Blooming Memory
by angelrider13
Summary: When the crew stops at a deserted island, of course, Luffy goes off to explore. And, of course, the Straw Hats get more than they bargained for when their captain wonders back to the ship with some kind of plant attached to his wrist. It doesn't seem like such a big deal at first. But then the dreams start. (Straw Hats watching Luffy's memories fic)
1. The Seedling

**Alright, everybody! **

**New One Piece fic! Woooo! I'm assuming you've read the description and know that this fic will be about the Straw Hats watching Luffy's memories. If not, NOW YOU KNOW.  
**

**To be honest, I've kinda been wanting to do a fic like this for a while. Well, I've finally gotten around to it. This fic follows canon takes place sometime after Fishman Island, so there will be potential for spoilers up to that point. I will be including things from both the manga and the anime, as well as adding my own little stories for Luffy's memories.  
**

**This chapter is just the prologue, so yes, it will be short.  
**

**Disclaimer: Nope.  
**

**ONWARD!**

* * *

_Prologue_

_The Seedling_

* * *

Luffy had been gone for hours. Not that anyone was worried. Luffy disappeared on a regular basis when they docked at a new island, deserted or otherwise. And while he almost always got into trouble, the rubber captain was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. So no one felt the need to be worried. Besides, when Luffy was in trouble it was, more often than not, very loud and very obvious trouble. And his crew had no problem finding him.

So the Straw Hat crew was perfectly justified in not feeling the slightest bit of worry when Luffy wondered off to explore that morning. As well as when everyone else – including Zoro – made it back to the ship by mid-afternoon. Luffy was fine. He would be back when he got hungry enough; he thought with his stomach after all.

And sure enough, when Sanji was a half-way through cooking dinner, Luffy climbed aboard the Thousand Sunny.

He was dirty, as expected for someone who had spent a good portion of the day running through a forest, and he was grinning widely as always. But there was a haziness to his eyes and a sluggishness to his movements, like he was tired. Now, if Luffy was a normal person, the fact that he was showing signs of being tired after a day of exploring was not surprising. However, Luffy was not a normal person. Far from it. So the fact that he was tired was odd. Very odd.

"Oi, Luffy!" Usopp called, "Where have you been? You missed lunch!"

Luffy tilted his head to the side, a confused expression on his face. "Huh? No I didn't! I ate a wild boar!" he said, patting his stomach, "Shishishi! It was delicious!"

"Of course it was," Usopp deadpanned.

Robin chuckled from her seat on the lawn. "Did you have fun exploring the island, Luffy?" she asked without looking up from her book.

"Yeah!" Luffy exclaimed, grinning, "There's so much stuff, Robin! I saw this waterfall – it was soooooo tall! Oh, oh! And there was this biiiiiiiig fish that was trying to swim up it! And, and –"

In the midst of all his flailing, Usopp's sharp eyes caught sight of something on Luffy's wrist. "Nah, Luffy, what's that thing on your wrist?" he asked, effectively cutting the rubber teen off.

Luffy stopped and blinked before glancing at his wrist. There was indeed something stuck to his wrist. It looked like a flower bud of some kind. But at second glance, it wasn't just stuck to the young captain's wrist, it was _embedded_ in it. Small tendrils branched out from under the small bud, taking root in Luffy's skin. Luffy just stared at it for a moment before smiling. "Oh yeah," he said, "A tree bit me."

Usopp facepalmed. "Luffy, let me see," he said, taking his friend's wrist and looking at the strange plant that seemed to be growing from it. "Oi, Robin? I think you need to come take a look at this."

The archeologist looked up from her book, brow furrowing when she saw what Usopp was pointing to. She got up and walked over, taking a closer look. "Hmmm, perhaps it's best to have Chopper take a look at this. I'll see if I can find anything in the library."

Usopp nodded and dragged Luffy off to the infirmary.

* * *

"I told you," Luffy said, "It doesn't hurt. Not even a little!"

Chopper frowned as he prodded the bud. "Are you sure, Luffy?"

Luffy nodded.

Usopp sighed. "How did this even happen?"

Luffy cocked his head to the side. "Well…there was this tree I found in the forest. It was really pretty and covered in vines and flowers. But when I went to touch it, it bit me!"

"Trees don't bite people, Luffy," Usopp said dryly.

"Fine. It poked me."

"With what?" Chopper asked.

"I dunno," Luffy answered, "It was sharp and it made me feel really dizzy." Luffy paused, brow scrunched up in confusion. "I think I fell asleep, which is weird, cause I wasn't tired at all, but I was on the ground and I didn't remember getting there. And this plant thing was in my wrist."

Chopper frowned. "Dizzy? I'm going to take a blood test, Luffy. It sounds like something was injected into your bloodstream; I need to make sure it isn't harmful."

"Huh? But poison doesn't work on me," Luffy said, arms crossed over his chest.

"We don't know that it was poison, Luffy," Chopper said reasonably, "I could have been something else, some other kind of drug, and if it was, we need to know what kind."

Luffy tilted his head to the side. "Hmmm…alright. If you say so, Chopper."

Chopper smiled at his captain and turned around to gather what he needed. While he was doing this, Robin entered the infirmary with a thick book in hand.

"Oh, Robin, did you find anything?" Usopp asked.

"I think so," she said, turning the book around to show them a picture of a vine-covered, flowering tree, "Is this what the tree looked like, Luffy?"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah! It looked just like that!"

"Is it dangerous?" Chopper asked as he stuck a needle into Luffy's arm to draw some blood.

"Not by itself, no," Robin answered, "It's called the 'Arbor Somniatis' which means the 'Tree of the Dreamer'. It's an incredibly rare plant that's able use it's sap to render potential predators unconscious."

"So the sap doesn't actually do any harm?" Chopper asked.

"No. It simply puts the victim to sleep for a week or two. Thus why it's called the 'Tree of the Dreamer'. The dangerous part comes from the fact that, during this time, the victim is completely helpless. Nothing will be able to wake them from their slumber until the sap wears off and leaves their system," Robin explained.

Luffy frowned. "So I'm going to sleep for two weeks?"

"More or less," Robin answered.

"But that means I'll miss seventy meals!" the young captain exclaimed in panic.

"How the hell did you calculate that so quickly?!" Usopp yelled.

* * *

"I think it would be best if we remained here for the duration of Luffy's slumber," Robin said after she and Chopper had explained the situation to the crew during dinner.

Dinner was oddly quiet that night. Luffy's energy was obviously draining fast; his movements were sluggish and his eyes were half closed. It was clear he was trying to eat, but he wasn't having much success, he could barely chew, and he was in no condition to be stealing food from everyone else's plates.

Nami sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "Well, according to my books, the log will take about five days to set anyway," she said.

"And now those days will be unnaturally silent," Zoro commented dryly.

"We could use a break for a while," Sanji said.

"You think you can deal with this for two weeks, love-cook?" Zoro asked, gesturing to the room as a whole.

"Well it will definitely be quiet without you, Luffy-bro!" Franky said, cutting in before an argument could break out between the first mate and the cook.

Luffy blinked slowly and dragged his eyes up to Franky's. When he finally managed it, he smiled sleepily.

Nami sighed. "Honestly, Luffy, can't you stay out of trouble for one day?"

The rubber teen chuckled softly. "Sor-ry, Na-mi," he said slowly, voice soft, before suddenly slumping forward and collapsing on the table.

"And, he's out," stated Usopp, prodding the young captain's shoulder and getting no response.

"Yohohoho! That was so sudden! My heart stopped!" Brook cried, "Except I don't have a heart."

Robin chuckled. "Perhaps we should move Luffy to bed?" she suggested.

"I'll do it," Chopper volunteered, shifting into Heavy Point and scooping up the slumbering pirate and carrying him out of the room.

"I suppose it'll be an early night then," Nami said, "Luffy's the one who keeps us up half the time anyway."

"That's because without Luffy around, we actually get everything done that we need to," Usopp replied.

"And then have nothing to do afterward," added Franky.

"Indeed," Brook said, "Luffy-san makes life much more interesting! Yohoho!"

Nami rolled her eyes, but her lips were twitching slightly, like she was fighting a smile. "I'm going to work on my maps and then head to bed," she said, getting up from the table and heading toward the door, "Good night."

Robin smiled. "This will be an interesting two weeks," she said.

The others had to agree.

* * *

**So there it is. Just trying to set the stage pretty much. I wanted to have a kinda legit reason for why all of this would be happening instead of just thrusting the crew into Luffy's memories. Thoughts?**

**Until next time,  
**

**~Elri  
**


	2. First Petal

**Hello everyone!  
**

**First off, MERRY CHRISTMAS! XD  
**

**Second off, here's an update for your Christmas present!  
**

**It's the first actual chapter of the story, which means there will be memory viewing! I'm not sure if this is how long all of the chapters will be, length will most likely not be standard, meaning the there will probably be chapters that are both longer and shorter than this. Also this chapter took me a surprisingly long time to write, so updates for this fic will probably not be updated as often. Not saying that it WILL take a long time, because I will definitely be working on this, just giving you a bit of a heads up if updates are a bit slow compared to everything else.  
**

**This chapter is all about Luffy and Shanks. As in the entire arc with Shanks is covered in this chapter. Most of it is a combo of anime and manga canon with some extra pieces that I threw in just for fun (which I will be doing quite often just so you guys know).  
**

**I'm pretty much just talking for the sake of talking now, so I'll let you get to it.  
**

**Disclaimer: I just ate a cinnamon roll. It was delicious.  
**

**ONWARD!**

* * *

_Chapter 1_**  
**

_First Petal _

_A Hero and A Promise_

* * *

Nami groaned as she was nudged awake.

"Oi, Nami," A voice said above her. It sounded like Usopp.

"Oi, shit-head! Don't interrupt Nami-swan's beauty sleep!" That was definitely Sanji.

There was a crashing sound, like a body hitting the ground and then frantic yelling.

"Oh no! Usopp! Usopp's dead! What do we do?! We need a doctor! Wahhhh!" And there was Chopper.

Nami sighed and sat up. "Can't you guys shut up? I'm trying to – " The navigator cut of when she opened eyes, shock crossing her features. This was _not_ Sunny. Or any part of Sunny. Nami didn't know where this was at all. "…sleep," she finished lamely.

They were all here, the entire crew. Where ever "here" was. It didn't even look like a place. It was more like a void. And endless white space.

"Naaaaaaaaami-swan~!" Sanji cried as he twirled over to her.

"So the witch is finally awake?" Zoro drawled from where he was sitting a short distance away.

Nami ignored the comment. "Where are we?" she asked.

"That is a good question, Nami-sis," Franky said, "We all just woke up here."

"Where ever here is," Brook added.

"The last thing I remember is falling asleep," Chopper said.

Usopp sat up with a gasp. "What if someone snatched us all up in our sleep?!" he cried.

"Oh no! What do we do?!" Chopper panicked.

Zoro snorted. "There's no way," he said surely.

"I have to agree with the shitty swordsman," Sanji said, "No one would have been able to take us without at least one of us waking up."

Nami glance around. "Luffy isn't here either," she added, "And he's the most defenseless of us right now. If someone snatched us, why not take him? He's the highest bounty on our crew."

"I doubt we have left," Robin commented calmly.

"But then where are we?" Franky asked.

Usopp tilted his head to the side in consideration. "Well we all fell asleep before we got here, right? So maybe we're just dreaming it."

"But would we all have the same dream?" Brook asked.

Chopper perked up. "Maybe it has something to do with the Arbor Somniatis," he said.

"It's a possibility," Robin commented thoughtfully, "It's a very rare plant and not much is known about it. It's possible there are other effects that we don't know about."

"So what, we'll be out of it for two weeks too?" Zoro asked, "That leaves all of us completely open!"

"I don't think it's anything quite so serious," Robin placated, "None of us ever came into direct contact with the plant. But we have been in contact with Luffy."

"So some sort of second-hand effect could be at work?" Chopper asked, in doctor mode, "It sounds like a plausible theory. But none of us exhibited any of the symptoms Luffy did."

"Perhaps we only experience them when we are unconscious?" Nami piped in, "I mean everything was fine before we went to sleep."

"Yoho! That's true!" Brook said, "I felt fine before I closed my eyes to go to sleep! Only I don't have eyes."

"So could these side effects or whatever they are cause us to have the same dream?" Sanji asked.

"It's a possibility," Chopper said, "We can't really rule anything out without doing proper research."

"But what about Luffy?" Usopp questioned, "I mean he's the most effected, but he's not here."

"Perhaps he is, in a sense," Robin said, "We could be in his dream."

The Straw Hats paused to consider.

"That would explain a lot," Nami deadpanned, several of the others nodding in agreement.

"I don't know," Zoro said, "I always thought Luffy would dream of meat or something."

"Or adventure," Sanji added.

"Then perhaps it is not a dream," Robin said, "We could merely be in his consciousness or stuck between thoughts."

"So what? We just sit here?" Zoro asked.

"I suspect we will all wake when morning comes," Robin replied, "Chopper and I can do proper research then. But until morning, it seems we are stuck here."

Usopp sighed. "Man, couldn't Luffy's head be more interesting?"

As soon as the words left Usopp's mouth, the white void began to change. Shapes began to form, nothing but blobs of color at first, but then edges began to solidify, colors deepened and evened out. The sky came first, deep blue and full of fluffy white clouds. Next was a dock, firm solid wood carefully maintained, followed by houses and stores. A village of some kind. Then came the sea, vast and large, seemingly endless, its waves lapping against the dock's supports. Finally, a ship anchored by the dock. It was large with a dragon shaped figurehead and three masts, a pirate flag waving proudly in the wind. All at once, the sound crashed down on the Straw Hats; the sea, the wind, the birds, the hustle and bustle of the town.

"Usopp! What did you do?!" Chopper shouted.

"How should I know?!" the sharpshooter cried.

"Where the heck are we now?" Nami asked, looking around the deck of the ship and the people milling about.

"Apparently, we're on Shanks's ship," Zoro said calmly, arms crossed over his chest.

"Eh? How do you know something like that?" Franky asked.

Zoro pointed to the pirate flag. "That's Shanks's mark. Recognize it from my days as a bounty hunter. Not as feared as Whitebeard's mark was, but it's still pretty high up there."

"What's up with these people?" Usopp asked, waving his hand in front of a man's face only to receive no response, "It's like they can't see us."

"How odd," Brook commented reaching out to one of the men, only for his hand to go straight through him, "Ahhhhhhhhhh! Ghost! We've turned into ghosts!"

Brook, Chopper, and Usopp began to freak out, running around the deck. Nami finally got fed up and whacked all three of them around the head.

"WILL YOU KNOCK IT OFF!" she yelled.

"Well if we're sticking to the theory that this is a dream, Luffy's dream to be precise, then it wouldn't be unreasonable for us not to be seen," Robin commented, "We are outside influences after all."

"So since we're not part of Luffy's psyche, we're not part of his dream," Sanji clarified, "Even though we can still see and hear it, we can't interact with it."

Robin nodded. "Exactly."

Nami groaned. "This all so weird. I don't think I want to see Luffy's dreams," she said with a shudder.

"Not like we have much choice," Zoro shrugged, "Might as well sit back and watch the show."

"Oi! What are you doing, Luffy?" one of the pirates called out.

The Straw Hats turned and saw a little boy standing on the figurehead of the ship. He was small, six or seven years old at the most, his face set in a determined glare. He wore a simple t-shirt with the word 'Anchor' on it and pair of shorts. He had a small knife grasped firmly in one of his small hands.

"Eh? Is that Luffy?" Usopp asked.

"He's so tiny! Yohoho!" Brook said.

"Why the hell would Luffy make himself so small?" Sanji asked.

Robin tilted her head to the side in thought. "Perhaps this particular dream is a memory?"

"Makes sense," Nami said, "If we're in his head that is."

"I'm not joking this time!" Little Luffy shouted to the pirates, "I've had enough! I'll prove it for you all to see!"

"Eh? What's little Luffy-bro trying to prove?" Franky asked,

"Probably something really stupid," Nami said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Knowing Luffy? It's pretty much guaranteed," Zoro said.

The pirates laughed.

"Luffy's doing something funny again," one of them said with an amused grin.

A man in a very familiar straw hat with bright red hair laughed. "Hahahahaha! Go for it!" he yelled, egging little Luffy on, "Let's see what you're gonna do!"

"Hey, that's Luffy's hat!" Chopper said, pointing to the hat on the man's head.

"Luffy said he got the hat from Shanks when he was little," Nami pointed out.

"So this must be Shanks then," Sanji said, looking the red headed pirate over.

Before anything else could be said, Luffy took the knife in his hand and shoved it straight into his cheek, just below his left eye. The pirates immediately started freaking out.

"You idiot!"

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Nami face palmed. "You have got to be kidding me."

"For some reason, I am not at all surprised," Usopp deadpanned. The crew nodded in agreement.

"Not at all," they said in unison.

"At least we know how he got the scar," Robin observed with a calm, amused smile.

The port scene began to change then, the sea and ship melting away, replaced with the interior of a tavern.

"Yohoho! The walls are moving!" Brook exclaimed.

"A different memory?" Chopper asked.

"Probably," Zoro said.

The tavern scene was a lively one, Shanks's crew was partying and laughing, drinking and eating and cracking jokes with each other. Little Luffy sat at the bar with Shanks himself, cheek freshly bandaged. The boy had tears gathering in the corners of his eyes, but he was smiling.

"It didn't hurt at all," he said.

"Liar!" Shanks accused, "Don't do anything so stupid again!"

"Well, we all know he doesn't listen to that," Nami commented.

"I'm not afraid of pain!" Luffy said determinedly, "Next time, bring me out to sea! I want to be a pirate too!"

"What? No way!" Shanks exclaimed, "You can't handle being a pirate! Not being able to swim is a pirate's greatest weakness!"

"As long as I don't fall overboard, I'll be fine!" Luffy protested.

Zoro snorted. "If he can go a day without falling overboard, I'll be impressed."

"Besides, my fighting is pretty good too!" Luffy continued, "I've trained really hard! My punch is as strong as a pistol!"

"A pistol? Wow…Really?" Shanks asked, looking decidedly unimpressed.

"WHAT KIND OF TONE IS THAT?!" Luffy shouted.

The Straw Hats couldn't help but snicker at their little captain's predicament.

The pirate crew all laughed at Luffy's outburst.

"Luffy! You seem unhappy!"

"Be happy to face anything!"

"Yea, the pirate life is great!"

"The sea is so wide and deep! You could go to any island and seek adventure!"

"Nothing is greater than freedom!"

And then the pirates all cheered, Luffy looking at them in absolute wonder.

"I wonder just how much these guys influenced Luffy?" Sanji asked.

"They act just like him," Nami said, "I mean, they practically just stated his mentality."

"They seem like very good people," Brook added.

Shanks sighed. "Don't give him dumb ideas, guys!"

"But it's the truth!" A fat pirate with a bandana tied around his head taunted.

"Captain!" One of the pirates called, "Why don't we take him with us one time? It's not a big deal."

"I agree!"

Luffy grinned. "Yeah!" he cheered.

"Fine, fine," Shanks said, carelessly waving a hand, "Then next time, one of you can get off and we'll take him in your place."

"Well, we've said enough," the fat pirate said as he and the others turned around, "Lets drink!"

"What kind of friends are you?!" Luffy shouted after them.

Shanks chuckled. "You're still too young, Luffy," he said, "Wait at least ten years and then I'll reconsider taking you out to sea."

"Luffy is just a little kid still!" the fat pirate called across the room.

The man next to him grinned. "You're about the same age as my kid!" he said.

Usopp jolted at that, looking at the man with new interest. His skin was tanned and sea worn and he had blond hair. A bandana with 'Yasopp' written on it was wrapped around his head.

"Dad," he whispered in surprise.

"Eh? He's your dad?" Chopper asked.

Aside from Zoro and Nami, the crew looked surprised by this new information.

Usopp sniffed and wiped his eyes before grinning proudly hands on his hips. "That's right!" he exclaimed, "I'm the son of a great pirate!"

"Wow!" Chopper cried.

"That's SUUUUUUUPER cool, bro!"

"Yohohohoho! What a surprise!"

"I'm not a kid anymore!" Luffy protested.

"Hey, hey, don't be mad. Here, have some juice," the pirate captain said, placing a glass down in front of the kid.

Luffy's angry face vanished, replaced with a smile. "Oh, thanks!" he said, taking a drink.

Shanks started laughing, pounding the bar with his hand. "See? Still a kid! What kind of pirate drinks juice? Hahahahaha!"

"That's a dirty trick!" Luffy shouted.

"Luffy sure gets angry a lot as a kid," Chopper commented thoughtfully.

"He has a very short temper it seems," Brook agreed.

"It is quite interesting," Robin added, "He's very different as a child, but at the same time…"

"He's exactly the same," Zoro finished.

"Shitty captain hasn't changed at all," Sanji said crossing his arms.

"Luffy, would you like something to eat?"

The Straw Hats turned to see a young woman entering from the back carrying a barrel of sake. She wore a simple blouse and skirt, her dark green hair tucked under a bandana. Her face was kind and her smile was gentle.

"Mellorine~! Mellorine~!" Sanji called, twirling towards her with hearts in his eyes, "What a beautiful lady~!"

Nami clocked him over the head, sending him crashing to the floor. "She can't see or hear you, Sanji-kun, so stop it."

"Yes, Nami-swan~!"

"Stupid love-cook," Zoro grumbled.

"What was that?!" Sanji cried, jumping to his feet.

"Eh? Are you deaf now too?" Zoro asked.

"Stop it!" Nami yelled, "I'm trying to watch!"

"Makino! Ok!" Luffy chirped with a bright smile, "I'll pay you with my treasure!"

"Always thinking with his stomach," Usopp muttered.

"Pssh, what treasure? You're lying again," Shanks said.

"I am not!" Luffy cried, banging his knife and fork down on the bar top, "I'm definitely going to be a pirate! And I'll pay her with the treasure I find!"

Makino smiled and laughed. "I'll be waiting!"

Luffy beamed at her.

"I wonder who Makino is to him," Nami wondered aloud.

"Hm? What do you mean, Nami?" Chopper asked.

Nami shrugged. "Well we know that Luffy's dad is Dragon, so obviously, Luffy never had a father growing up," she said and the others nodded, "Garp probably raised him to some extent if the incident at Water 7 is anything to go by, but he's a marine, he couldn't be here all the time."

"What about Ace?" Usopp asked, dropping his voice to a whisper when he said his captain's older brother's name, like it was some kind of taboo. Ace had not been mentioned once since they had reunited. Luffy didn't mention anything about the Paramount War when they all swapped stories and no one was brave enough to bring it up. Luffy seemed fine, but they all knew that when it came to the rubber teen, appearances were deceiving.

Sanji sighed. "Well they have different parents, right?" he asked.

"They may not have met yet," Robin said.

Nami nodded. "That's exactly my point," she said, "Luffy's a kid, but who's he staying with? Who's taking care of him?"

"Perhaps his mother?" Brook asked.

"There's never been any hint of her," Nami said, shaking her head.

"So that leaves this Makino woman," Zoro concluded.

"Well it fits doesn't it?" Nami asked.

"I suppose…" Usopp said.

"Hey, Shanks," Luffy said between bites.

"Yeah?"

"How long are you going to stay?"

"Well…" Shanks said, thinking, "It's been almost a year. We'll probably set sail a couple more times and then we'll leave this town and head north."

"A couple times…" Luffy said softly, and the Straw Hats noticed the boy's change, the sad gleam that entered his eyes and the way his shoulders slumped.

Makino gave him a sad smile and sighed from where she was cleaning glasses behind the counter.

Luffy suddenly straightened up and grinned confidently. "I'll learn to swim by then!"

Shanks laughed. "Okay! Good luck!"

Suddenly, the door to the tavern was kicked in and a group of shady looking men walking in. The pirates fell silent, looking up curiously.

"So this is what pirates look like," said the man in the front of the group, "This is the first time I've seen pirates. They look pretty dumb to me."

"Oh, great," Usopp said.

"Looks like we're about to have a bar fight on our hands," Zoro said with a grin.

The pirate crew didn't say anything, just sat quietly, eating and watching with curious eyes as the group approached the bar. Luffy stared at them while stuffing his face.

"What's Luffy-bro eating?" Franky asked, drawing the crew's attention to the boy.

"That would be a Devil Fruit," Robin observed.

"Figures shitty bastard would just eat it," Sanji said.

Nami sighed. "I bet he has no idea what it is."

"Luffy-san is in for a big surprise! Yohoho!" Brook said.

"Welcome. Can I help you?" Makino asked, an undercurrent of nerves in her voice, but she stood firm as the man reached the bar.

"She brave, I'll give her that," Zoro said approvingly.

"We're bandits," the man smirked, "We're not here to cause trouble; we just want ten barrels of sake."

"I'm sorry," Makino said politely, "But we're out of sake."

"Oh?" the bandit asked, "That's strange. What are they drinking then? Water?"

"Shitty asshole! That is not how you speak to a lady!" Sanji exclaimed.

"It's sake," Makino said calmly, "But it's the last of our stock."

Shanks looked up at that. "Oh sorry," he said with an easy smile, "Looks like we drank it all. But there's still a bottle left, it's unopened." Shanks held the bottle out to the bandit. "You can take it if you want."

Everything was still for a moment before the bandit suddenly lashed out, shattering the bottle, the sake spilling all over Shanks. Makino and Luffy gasped while the bandits all smirked and started chuckling among themselves. The pirates just watched calmly. Shanks's head was down, the brim of his hat shading his eyes.

"Yohoho! How scary!" Brook cried.

"He's dead," Usopp said.

"Dead," Chopper agreed.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Zoro said thoughtfully, watching the red haired pirate.

"Just who do you think I am? One bottle isn't enough," the bandit said, reaching into his coat and pulling out a wanted poster. "See this? My head is worth eight million beris. I've killed fifty six people before, you cocky bastard." He leaned over Shanks, who was still sitting down. "Now that you know who I am, don't mess with us again. After all, mountain bandits and sea pirates don't mingle well."

It was still for a moment.

Then Shanks looked up, a pout on his lips. "Awww, now the floor's all wet."

The Straw Hats stared. His reaction was so…_Luffy_.

"Sorry about that, Makino," Shanks said, kneeling down and staring to pick up chunks of glass from the shattered bottle, "Do you have a mop?"

Makino snapped out of her shocked daze at that. "O-Oh, no, it's fine. I can clean it up."

The mountain bandit drew his sword and slashed it along the bar, cutting into the wood and sending food and dishes crashing to the floor.

"Well it seems you enjoy cleaning," he sneered, "Now you can enjoy doing it more."

With that, the band of bandits turned and filed out of the tavern.

"Later, you chickens," the leader called over his shoulder.

Makino quickly kneeled down next to Shanks. "Are you alright, Captain?" she asked, using the towel in her hand to try and wipe the food and alcohol off of him.

Shanks gently waved her off. "I'm fine," he reassured.

And just like that, the pirates broke out into loud, boisterous laughter, Shanks laughing the loudest out of all of them.

"He fixed you up good, Captain!"

"Wahahaha! Our captain looked so silly!"

"You look pretty dumb on the floor there, Captain!"

The Straw Hats starred.

"I think I know where Luffy gets it from," Nami said.

The others nodded.

"WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?!"

Everyone in the bar turned to look at Luffy. The boy looked absolutely furious, fists clenched tightly at his sides.

"THAT WAS DISGRACEFUL!" he yelled, "WHY DIDN'T YOU FIGHT HIM? SO WHAT IF HE HAD MORE PEOPLE?! WHO LAUGHS AT AFTER GETTING PICKED ON?! YOU'RE NOT A MAN AND YOU'RE NOT A PIRATE EITHER!"

Zoro smirked. "Well this is familiar," he said.

Nami looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"That bar fight back on Jaya," he replied, looking at her seriously, arms crossed over his chest, "You yelled at me and Luffy when we didn't fight back. You didn't understand why Luffy gave that order. This is the same thing. Only this time, Luffy is you."

Nami blinked, not quite understanding what the swordsman was getting at.

"I know how you feel, Luffy," Shanks said, "But it was just a bottle of sake; it was nothing to get upset over."

"Not all fights are worth it," Sanji said calmly.

Zoro nodded.

Nami stared at them, finally achieving some level of understanding.

Luffy huffed. "I don't want to see you again!" he said, walking passed Shanks.

The pirate reached out and grabbed the boy's wrist. "Aww, come on, Luffy; don't lea…"

Shanks trailed off when he saw that Luffy had kept walking. And his arm had started _stretching_. The pirates started panicking and Luffy stared freaking out.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" he yelled.

"LUFFY DID YOU EAT THE FRUIT IN THIS BOX?" the fat pirate from earlier asked.

Luffy blinked. "Well…yeah. It's dessert. It tasted pretty bad though…."

Shanks grabbed Luffy's shoulders. "THAT WAS THE GOMU GOMU NO MI!" he shouted, "IT WAS A DEVIL FRUIT! WHOEVER EATS IT WILL TURN INTO A RUBBER MAN AND LOSE THE ABILITY TO SWIM!"

Luffy's eyes went wide. "WHAAAAAAAT? YOU'RE KIDDING RIGHT?!"

The Straw Hats sighed.

Nami rubbed her temples. "He is such an idiot," she muttered.

"They all kinda are, Nami-sis," Franky said.

"But we put up with him," Usopp said, "So what does that say about us?"

They all sighed.

The scene changed again, the tavern shifting into the village street. Luffy was smiling as he ran down it. The town was alive with people; it was some time in the afternoon, approaching evening from the looks of the sky. Luffy paused for a moment to take a look around.

"That's him right?" a small voice asked, "The kid that ate the Devil Fruit?"

Luffy blinked and looked around for the source of the voice. His eyes landed on a group of kids that looked a little older than him a short distance away.

"Luffy-kun? Yeah, that's him."

"A Devil Fruit? Does that mean he's a monster now?"

Robin's face hardened, eyes flashing and lips pressed into a thin line. Chopper, who stood next to her, reached out and hugged her leg, whimpering.

"They aren't," Nami whispered in denial.

"He was already weird before," one kid said, "He doesn't have any parents and that Grandpa of his is hardly ever here. I bet he scared them off."

"I heard that after he ate it his arm stretched all the way across the bar!"

"Really? That's so gross!"

"What a freak!"

"Guess he must be a real devil now, huh?"

"That means he's bad, right? We better stay away from him."

Luffy's previously happy face had fallen into a completely blank expression, there was no emotion on his face at all. One of the kids noticed he was watching them and they started to panic before running away. The rubber boy just watched them go.

"Those jerks!" Nami fumed. Zoro was glaring after the kids and the others weren't much better. "How can kids be so cruel?"

"Children are not always kind, Nami," Robin informed softly, gently scooping Chopper up and patting his head, "Sometimes they can be crueler than adults."

Luffy started walking again, much slower than before and without his previous enthusiasm. His blank expression had turned thoughtful, his brow scrunched together and a small frown on his lips. He walked to the port, Shanks's ship docked in its waters. The rubber boy walked past it and sat at the end of the dock, feet dangling over the edge as he looked out at the sea.

After a few minutes, Shanks walked up and sat beside him.

"Hey, little Anchor," he said with a grin, "Whatcha doing?"

Luffy didn't answer, just pressed his lips together. Shanks's smile faded when he saw the expression on the boy's face.

"Hey, Anchor, what's wrong?" he asked softly, all signs of teasing gone. When Luffy still didn't answer, Shanks put a hand on his shoulder. "Luffy?"

The boy finally looked up at the pirate, a small frown on his face. "Am I bad?" he asked.

Shanks blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"Am I bad?" Luffy repeated.

Shanks frowned. "What makes you ask that?"

Luffy looked down at his feet as they swung back and forth. "Well I ate a Devil Fruit, right? And I have a really weird body now; it's not like other people's. And since devils are bad and the fruit I ate was a Devil Fruit, I must be bad too, right?" Luffy looked genuinely worried at the thought of it.

"Luffy, where is this coming from?"

"People said I was a monster 'cause my body is all rubber now," Luffy said simply, "And since I'm a monster, I'm bad now and they have to stay away from me."

Shanks tilted his head to the side, expression thoughtful as he leaned back on his hands and turned to face the sea.

The Straw Hats waited silently for the red haired man's answer.

"Have I ever told you about my captain?" he asked suddenly, making the Straw Hats blink in confusion.

Little Luffy looked just as confused as he shook his head. "I thought Shanks was the captain?" he asked.

Shanks grinned widely. "I wasn't always a captain," he said, "I was part of a different crew before I stared my own."

"Oh," Luffy said, "What's your captain like?"

Shanks eyes lit up at that and his grin widened. "He was a monster," he replied and Luffy's eyes went wide, "He was the biggest monster the world had ever seen!"

"Shanks's captain was bad?"

The pirate laughed. "Some people thought so," he said, "Captain was really strong and he did whatever he wanted to, even if people told him he couldn't. People got mad at him for that and they hated him because of it."

Luffy frowned.

The Straw Hats knew that Shanks was talking about Gold Roger.

"He might as well be talking about Luffy," Zoro grumbled.

Shanks smiled softly. "But that doesn't mean he was a bad person, Luffy," he continued, "People called him things all the time. Monster. Devil. Demon. People called Captain a monster because they were scared of him, because he was different. But that didn't mean he was bad."

"Why not?" the boy asked.

"Because the only person who could decide that Captain was bad was Captain," he man said simply. He smiled when he saw Luffy's confusion. "Captain wasn't doing anything except what he wanted to," he explained, "And because of that, people didn't like him. But those people never had a say in what he did or thought. Do you understand?"

Luffy nodded slowly. "I think so."

Shanks chuckled at the confusion he still saw in the boy's eyes. "Who you are is in here, Luffy," he said, pointing to the boy's heart, "No one can tell you who you are. That's something you decide for yourself." Luffy put a hand on his chest, looking thoughtful. "Do you want to be bad?" Shanks asked.

Luffy looked up and shook his head.

"Then you're not," Shanks assured, "And no one can tell you otherwise. Okay?"

Luffy nodded a smile slowly forming on his lips. "Okay!" he chirped.

Shanks smiled at the boy in front of him when he noticed the determined gleam in his eyes. "What's that look for?" he asked.

Luffy grinned. "I've decided!" the boy exclaimed, "I'm going to be a big monster just like Shanks's captain!"

Shanks raised an eyebrow, eyes shining in amusement. "Are you now?" he asked, "Well my captain could beat me in a fight without even breaking a sweat. Think you can handle that?"

"You bet I can!" Luffy shouted before tackling the pirate captain to the dock.

Shanks flailed dramatically and Luffy laughed. "No!" Shanks cried, "Someone save me!"

The Straw Hats smiled at the scene.

A man with long black hair tied back into a ponytail that the Straw Hats had seen in the tavern earlier walked down the dock and stopped in front of them, arms crossed over his chest, an amused look on his face.

"Ben!" Shanks called, eyes gleaming with laughter, "Ben, quick, help! There's a big monster and he's going to beat me!"

Ben looked from his captain to Luffy's grinning face from where he sat on the red haired man's stomach. "Sorry, Captain," he said with a grin, "He looks too tough for me."

Luffy giggled.

"No!" Shanks wailed dramatically, "Ben, I think I see the light! Tell the guys I'll miss them!"

He suddenly went completely limp on the dock, making Luffy look up in confusion. The boy reached up and poked the captain's face.

"Shanks?"

And suddenly Shanks jumped up and yelled, "BOO!"

Luffy screamed and fell back, Shanks breaking out in laughter.

"No fair!" Luffy yelled, "Meanie Shanks!"

Shanks grinned. "Oh yeah?"

The pirate reached out and grabbed the boy, pulling him tight against his chest with one hand, the other tickling his stomach. Luffy squealed and squirmed desperately in an attempt to escape, laughter spilling from his lips.

"Sh-Sha-nks! S-St-op it! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"No way!" the red haired man laughed.

Ben watched them with a fond, amused smile.

Chopper laughed. "Shanks is really nice," the little reindeer said.

"He's SUUUUUUPER!" Franky exclaimed, striking a pose.

"Luffy is very lucky," Robin said with a soft smile, "To have someone who cares so much about him."

Nami sighed wistfully. "He is," she agreed, "I can see why he cares about Shanks so much."

He dock shifted, changing again. Luffy's laughter faded out as the sea was replaced with walls. They were back in the tavern again, only this time around it was empty except for Luffy and Makino. Luffy sat at the bar, drinking a cup of juice while Makino was behind the counter cleaning some glasses.

"Where is everyone?" Usopp asked.

"Shanks did say that they were going to set sail a few more times before they left for good," Sanji said.

"Luffy looks kinda sad," Chopper said as he watched his captain play with the cup, his expression slightly downtrodden.

"They've been gone for a while," Makino said, breaking the silence, "Are you lonely, Luffy?"

Luffy immediately straightened up and frowned stubbornly. "No I'm not," he said firmly.

Makino tilted her head to the side and smiled knowingly. "I'm sure they'll be back soon."

Luffy just hummed, looking into his cup again.

Suddenly, the door was thrown open and the bandits from earlier strolled in.

"Yo, trouble just walked in," Franky said.

"Why do I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this?" Nami said as the bandits demanded to be served.

Sanji fumed. "That is no way to act," he said with a scowl.

The bandit were laughing and cracking jokes about Shanks's crew, calling them cowards. The Straw Hats could see the anger cross little Luffy's face. Hell, they felt it themselves. From what they had seen, Shanks and his crew were genuinely good people, unlike these thugs.

"I really wanted to kill him," the leader was saying, "Pirates only know how to act cool."

Luffy snapped. "SHUT UP!" he yelled, jumping up. Makino's expression became panicked as she grabbed him and tried to push him back down, "DON'T UNDERESTIMATE SHANKS! HE'S NOT A COWARD!"

"What was that, brat?" the bandit asked, scowling.

"Luffy, please, sit down," Makino whispered, fear in her eyes.

"I told you to shut up," Luffy said firmly, glaring up at the bandit.

"So remember that bad feeling Nami mentioned?" Usopp asked rhetorically.

The bandit reached forward and grabbed Luffy's shirt, ripping him from Makino's grip. "Listen, punk, you need to learn who you're messing with," he growled.

"Let me go!" Luffy yelled, kicking helplessly.

Makino rushed forward and grabbed the bandit's other arm. "Please! He's just a child! He doesn't know –"

The bandit didn't even let her finish, roughly shoving her away. She cried out in pain as her back collided with the bar and she fell to the ground.

"YOU SHITTY BASTARD!" Sanji yelled, literally on fire, "THAT'S NOT HOW YOU TREAT A WOMAN!"

"Makino!" Luffy cried, "Hey! You can't do that to her!"

The bandit ignored him as he carried him out of the tavern, the others crowding around their leader with grins.

"What are they gonna do?" Chopper asked worried.

"I do not know, Chopper-san," Brook said seriously, "But I do not think we will like it."

"What an interesting body," the leader drawled as he pulled on Luffy's cheek, watching as it stretched.

"Let me go!" Luffy yelled, trying to reach around and punch the bandit holding him.

The bandit threw Luffy down and kicked him in the gut before stomping on his head. Even though they knew it wouldn't hurt him, the Straw Hats found themselves shaking with fury, glaring heatedly at the grinning bandits.

"Why so upset? Have I said something to piss you off?" the lead bandit asked smugly.

"Yes you did!" Luffy shouted, voice muffled slightly by the dirt in his face, "Apologize right now!"

The bandit just smirked.

"Am I the only one wishing I could kick this guy's face in?" Sanji growled, glaring daggers at the bandit.

"No," Zoro said, hand tightly gripping one of his swords.

"Perhaps we should plan how to greet him should we ever encounter him," Robin commented calmly.

"Please! Let the child go!"

The Straw Hats turned to see Makino, hands clasped tightly, a worried expression on her face, standing beside an older man wearing a pair of glasses and a cap.

"Makino, Mayor," Luffy gasped out.

"I don't know what Luffy did," the Mayor said, "And I don't want to argue with you. But I'm willing to pay! So please let the child go!"

The bandit smirked. "As one would expect, it's the elders that know the proper way to deal with any situation," he said, "But it's too late now. You can't save this little brat; he's really pissed me off. When a weakling like him insults me it makes me so angry!" he growled, stomping down hard on Luffy's head.

Zoro gave an animalistic snarl and almost drew one of his swords then and there. The others had reacted similarly. Nami was reaching for her Clima-tact, Robin's arms were crossed, Usopp's slingshot was out, Sanji's leg was raised, Brook's sword was half drawn, Chopper had shifted to Heavy Point, Franky had one of his canons trained on the lead bandit's head.

They knew they wouldn't be able to help, but they couldn't help it. It was a natural instinct to protect their captain. Especially when he was so small.

"It's your fault!" Luffy yelled stubbornly, "You stupid baboon!"

"Fine," the bandit, drawing his sword, "I'm not gonna sell you. I'll kill you instead."

"LUFFY!" Makino screamed, panic and fear flashing across her face.

"Please!" the Mayor cried, "Let him go!"

"I was wondering why no one welcomed us at the port," a familiar voice drawled casually.

Everyone turned to see Shanks and his crew standing behind Makino and the Mayor.

"So this is why," Shanks finished.

The Straw Hats relaxed some. Shanks would protect Luffy when they couldn't.

Shanks grinned brightly. "Hey, you guys are the bandit's from the other day," he said before turning his teasing grin on Luffy, though the Straw Hats could see the way his eyes flashed dangerously when he saw the boy's predicament, "What's the matter, Luffy? I thought your punch was as strong as a pistol?"

"…Shut up!" the boy pushed out, trying his hardest to glare at the pirate from his position.

"Pirate," the leader said, "Why are you here? I suggest you leave now."

"If you don't leave now, I'll shoot you, you coward," one of the bandits said with a cocky grin, pointing a gun straight at Shanks's head.

Shanks paused, but his expression didn't change. He still wore that calm, almost friendly, smile. His eyes were serious though.

"Hmmmm…well now that you've pulled out your gun, are you willing to use it?" Shanks asked casually, as if they were discussing the weather.

"Huh? What are talking about?"

"Are you willing to pull the trigger?" Shanks asked calmly pointing to the gun in his face, "These aren't toys to scare people with."

"Now where have we heard this speech before?" Zoro drawled.

Nami and Usopp snickered while the others looked confused.

"I've always wondered why he knew those words," Nami said with a grin.

"Huh? What are you guys talking about?" Franky asked, scratching his head.

"When we first met Usopp, Luffy used the same speech on him," Nami explained.

"Worked like a charm too," Zoro laughed.

"Oi!" Usopp cried, grinning despite himself.

Suddenly a gunshot echoed out and the bandit with the gun fell to the ground. The fat pirate was now standing by Shanks, the gun in his hand still smoking.

The bandits cried out in surprise and anger.

"Damnit!"

"That was dirty!"

The pirates laughed.

"Dirty?" Yasopp asked, eyebrow raised, "What do you think we are? Saints? We're pirates!"

"Shut up!" one of the bandits yelled, "This is none of your business!"

Shanks's face fell into a blank mask. "Listen up, bandits," he said "You can spill food or sake on me. Or even spit at me. I'll just laugh it off." Shanks paused, his expression growing dark and dangerous, "But. I don't care what your reasons are. I WON'T FORGIVE ANYONE THAT MESSES WITH MY FRIENDS!"

"Shanks…" Luffy whispered softly.

"He definitely gets it from Shanks," Sanji said.

"Shanks is cool!" Chopper exclaimed, stars in his eyes, "Do you think we'll get to meet him?"

"Probably," Nami said, "Luffy said he needs to return Shanks's hat to him."

The lead bandit laughed. "Won't forgive? You bunch of pirates who float around on a ship all day want to challenge us?! We'll destroy you!"

The bandits roared approval and charged forward, weapons raised.

Ben strode forward, pulling out the rifle he had tucked in the sash at his waist, stance relaxed and casual. "I'll deal with this," he called to Shanks, who just smiled. Ben then proceeded to use his rifle as a club and beat all the bandits within a matter of seconds. "Don't overestimate yourselves, bandits," Ben said, lighting a new cigarette, "If you want to fight us, you better get a fleet of marines to back you up."

"Wow…" Luffy whispered in awe.

"That was pretty impressive," Usopp said.

"For taking out small fry," Zoro added.

The lead bandit was panicking. "Ah! Wait a minute! This little brat messed with us first!"

Shanks smirked. "Isn't there a price on your head?" he taunted.

Sanji grinned. "I like him," he said.

Robin chuckled. "He is a very interesting character."

The bandit suddenly threw something down and it exploded in a giant cloud of smoke.

"A smoke bomb?!" one of the pirates cried.

"Luffy!" Shanks called out.

"I can't see anything," Brook said, "But then again, I don't have eyes to see with. Yohohoho!"

"What's happening?" Chopper asked.

"Come with me, brat," the voice of the leader came.

"Hey!" Luffy cried, "Let me go!"

The scene changed, the smoke clearing to reveal the sea. The lead bandit was standing in a small row boat, Luffy held firmly by his shirt in one hand, dangling over the water.

"Well, shit," Sanji said with a grimace.

"Luffy can't swim," Nami bit her lip, "How's he going to get out of this?"

"He clearly does," Zoro said calmly, though his shoulders were tense.

Nami frowned. "Yeah, but _how_?"

"Well, looks like we got away," the bandit said with a grin, "I only used you as a hostage, but you're useless to me now."

The Straw Hats could do nothing but watch as Luffy struggled furiously, glaring up at the man holding him, a spark of fear in his eyes.

The bandit chuckled, smirking. "Good riddance," he said, tossing Luffy into the sea and laughing.

"Luffy!" Usopp yelled as the boy hit the water.

They watched as their tiny captain flailed wildly, trying to stay afloat. Luffy's eyes suddenly widened and the bandit's laughter cut off. The Straw Hats turned just in time to see a sea king close its massive jaws around the boat, swallowing the bandit whole.

"A sea king?!" Nami yelled, eyes wide.

"Shit, what's a thing like that doing in East Blue?" Sanji asked frantically.

"Technically, they live all over the world," Robin announced, "They are just the most common in the Calm Belts and the Grand Line."

"Now is not the time for random facts, Robin!" Usopp cried.

"Luffy-san is going to be eaten!" Brook panicked.

The sea king paused, red eyes turning to Luffy's struggling form. Luffy looked on in fear, unable to do anything to defend himself as the serpent dove forward.

"LUFFY!" the Straw Hats yelled.

And then their vision was obscured by water and blood, little Luffy's screams echoing in their ears. When everything was clear again, they saw Shanks cradling a trembling Luffy to his chest. The pirate captain glared hard at the sea king, making it freeze in place.

"Get lost," Shanks said.

The sea king stared for a moment before fleeing in terror.

Luffy looked up at Shanks, tears gathering in his eyes. "S-Shanks…"

"Thanks, Luffy," Shanks said with a big grin, "Makino told us what happened. Thanks for sticking up for us." Shanks paused taking in Luffy's tears. "Come on, Anchor, boys don't cry," he teased.

"B-But…Shanks…! Your arm!" Luffy cried, tears overflowing, "YOUR ARM!"

The Straw Hats stared, eyes wide at what they had just witnessed. Shanks's entire left arm was gone, nothing but a bloody stump left in its place.

Nami's hands were over her mouth, eyes wide in disbelief. "He…He gave up his arm for Luffy," she whispered.

Sanji felt something close guilt stir in his chest. "Huh, the shitty bastard did understand after all," he muttered to himself, very clearly remembering the way Luffy had yelled at him for trying to die for Zeff's restaurant back when they had fought Krieg. Zeff had given up his leg for Sanji, given up his dreams. And in his ignorance, Sanji had assumed that Luffy didn't know what it was like for someone to make that kind of sacrifice for him. How very wrong he was.

Shanks just gave a small, sincere smile, tucking the sobbing boy closer to his chest. "It's nothing," he said softly, firmly, "It's just an arm…as long as you're alive."

"Shanks really is a great person," Usopp said in awe as they watched Shanks swim both of them back to shore.

"He needs to be treated," Chopper said worriedly, fidgeting as he watched the blood drip down Shanks's side.

When Shanks finally reached the shore, Ben was the first to reach them. The dark haired man took Luffy from Shanks. The boy struggled for a moment, frantic, refusing to be parted from the captain.

"Easy, Luffy," Ben said calmly, "Shanks needs to be treated. You can see him afterwards, okay?"

Luffy relaxed at that, letting Ben pull him away and clinging to him instead.

Shanks laughed. "I'm completely fine!" he said, only to start swaying slightly, the blood loss finally getting to him.

Yasopp appeared next to him, grabbing Shanks's remaining arm and throwing it over his shoulders, wrapping an arm around the red haired man's waist. "Fine my ass," he said, frowning as another man came up on Shanks's other side and began checking over his wound.

"You guys worry too much," Shanks said, leaning heavily on Yasopp, "I'll be up and about in two days."

"Knowing you, you will be," Yasopp grumbled.

Shanks laughed.

The man on Shanks's other side looked up from the wound. "It's not as bad as it could have been, but I'm still gonna have to stich ya up, Captain."

Shanks hummed in response, eyes on Luffy. "Hey, Ben," he said.

Ben just smiled. "I know."

Shanks grinned and let himself be led away.

"Luffy!"

Luffy pulled his face out of Ben's neck and looked up to see Makino running towards them. She looked frantic and her eyes darted between the boy and Shanks's wound. She collided with Ben, who easily caught her around the waist and held her up when her legs threatened to give out as her hands roamed over Luffy's body, checking for injuries.

"Luffy, are you okay? What happened? You're covered in blood! Is it the Captain's? Will he be okay? Are you okay?" the woman's words left her in a rush.

"Makino," Ben interrupted calmly, "Luffy is fine, a little shaken up, but fine."

Luffy looked up at the man holding him. "Shanks will be fine too, right Ben?"

Ben smiled. "Well you heard him didn't you? He said he'd be up and about in two days. He'll be fine, Luffy."

Luffy sniffled. "Promise?" he asked childishly.

"Promise," Ben said.

Luffy sighed, accepting the pirate's word, and slumped forward, head resting against Ben's shoulder. His other hand came up and started playing with a strand of Makino's hair. "Makino?" he asked, "I'm wet."

Makino choked out a laugh, tears of relief gathering in her eyes. "You are very wet," she said, "Why don't we get you into some dry clothes?"

"Okay."

Ben chuckled at them. "Hey, Lucky, keep this lot in check yeah?" he called over his shoulder, "Make sure Captain listens to Doc."

The fat man with the bandana grinned. "No sweat," he said, "You just worry about getting our little Anchor fixed up."

Ben nodded, one arm wrapped around Makino, the other cradling Luffy, and led them away. Luffy's eyes stayed locked on the ship where Shanks had disappeared, worry shinning in them.

"Looks like it's not just Shanks," Nami observed.

"They're kinda like us, don't you think?" Chopper asked, "Like a big family."

The Straw Hats smiled as the scene began to change again. They were at the port again, the pirates loading crates and barrels onto the ship. Little Luffy stood with Shanks, who looked perfectly healthy just as he had promised, as they watched the pirates work. Shanks wore a black cloak, hiding his missing arm from view.

"You're really leaving this time?" Luffy asked.

"Yep," Shanks said, "We've stayed here long enough, it's about time we move on." Shanks paused and gave Luffy a contemplative look. "Are you upset?"

"Yeah…" Luffy sighed sadly before perking up and giving Shanks a grin, "But I've decided. I'm not going to ask you to take me with you. I'll become a pirate by myself!"

Shanks grinned at the boy and stuck his tongue out childishly. "Heh, I wouldn't take you even if you begged me! You don't have what it takes to be a pirate!" he teased.

"YES I DO!" Luffy yelled fiercely, and all of the pirates on the dock turned at Luffy's outburst, grinning, "One day I'll have a crew that's _better_ than yours! And then I'll find the world's greatest treasure and become the KING OF THE PIRATES!"

"Yohohohoho! Luffy-san is very determined!" Brook said.

"He decided all the way back then? And because Shanks was teasing him?" Nami asked nonplussed.

"Hmm, I think there's more to it than that," Robin replied, "When it comes to Luffy, things are rarely what they seem."

"And it looks like that applies to little Luffy-bro," Franky said.

"Besides," Zoro added, "He's not the only one who decided on his dream young."

Usopp nodded. "And he's not the only one who's stuck with it no matter what life throws at him."

"But," stared Chopper slowly, "I feel kinda like Luffy's the one who made us _want_ to fulfill our dreams, you know?"

Robin smiled. "It seems to be a habit of his."

Sanji smirked. "Shitty captain doesn't even seem to realize he's doing it."

Shanks listened with a blank expression before his lips slowly curved up into a smile, a spark of pride, and almost _anticipation_, lighting his eyes. "Oh? So you want to be bigger than us, huh? Well then," he said, reaching up and taking his straw hat off his head and placing it on Luffy's, "This hat is my gift to you."

Luffy stilled in shock before tears started streaming silently down his cheeks.

"This is my favorite hat, you know," Shanks said, pulling away, "When you become a great pirate in the future, you'll return that hat to me. It'll be our promise, Luffy."

And Luffy watched tears in his eyes and tightly clutching the straw hat as Shanks boarded his ship. Makino came up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders, smiling down at him when he looked up.

"Raise anchor!"

"Set sail!"

"Aye!"

Shanks looked back with a fond smile and Luffy watched him until the ship disappeared from view. The boy pulled the hat firmly down on his head, face determined despite the tears on his cheeks.

"I promise, Shanks," he whispered.

The scene began to fade out, but instead of another scene forming, the colors, shapes, and sounds all melted into the white void they had started in.

"Hey, what happened?" Usopp asked, "Is that the end?"

Robin hummed thoughtfully as she examined their surroundings. "Perhaps the dream is ending because we are waking up," she said.

Nami sighed. "Then we can find out what's going on."

"Indeed," Robin replied with a smile.

"Oi, Robin, you're lookin' a little too happy over there," Zoro said.

"Am I?" Robin asked curiously, "I just think it looks like I was right is all. It's going to be an interesting two weeks."

"You think this will keep up?" Franky asked.

"It's a possibility," Chopper answered, "Luffy's system will be affected for two weeks at most, and if this phenomena is an extension of his condition, then it is logical to assume we will continue to be effected as well."

"Aaaaa, Chopper-san is so smart!" Brook said.

Chopper blushed and started dancing around. "That doesn't make me happy at all you bastard~!"

"Either way," Sanji said, "The next two weeks will be very odd."

* * *

**So there it is. First chapter complete! What did you guys think? Was it okay? Were the crew's reactions alright? Let me know!**

**Until next time,  
**

**~Elri  
**


	3. Second Petal

_**Guys. GUYS. I DID IT. I FINISHED THE CHAPTER! WOOOOOOOOOO!  
**_

**This thing has taken me FOREVER and I pretty much put everything on hold for it. Which I am now to tired to do and I feel really bad about because some of them are betas and I should get them out but editing while brain dead is SUCH a bad idea. Still I should start them...  
**

**Anywho, thanks to everyone who's supported the story so far! And to my guest reviewers:  
**

**innocence: I'm glad you like it! And I have continued! XP  
**

**kuroivy: Even if you don't offer criticism, I'm always happy to hear that you like what I'm writing! :)  
**

**kira-kira-kun: I DID! (Well, maybe not asap, but it's up now :D)  
**

**Now, onto the chapter!  
**

**Disclaimer: I am soooooo tired. I just want to sleep. But...things...that I have to do...graaaaaa! *facedesk*  
**

**ONWARD!**

**Edit: I changed the time Ace spent with the crew so that it matches the anime rather than the manga. Elri has plans for our boys when they reach Alabasta. X3**

* * *

_Chapter 2_

_Second Petal_

_A Cause and Two Brothers_

* * *

That morning, when the Straw Hats woke, they weren't tired. Much to their surprise. All of them felt like they had gotten a full, peaceful night's sleep. The only one who didn't wake was Luffy. The young captain remained in a deep sleep in the infirmary, oblivious to the world around him.

"So," Usopp started slowly as they all gathered in the kitchen, "Did anyone else have a weird dream last night? About Luffy and Shanks?"

"Yes," Nami said as the others nodded.

Robin hummed thoughtfully. "It seems at least part of our hypothesis is proven," she said, "These aren't normal dreams if we are all having the same one."

"Robin-chwan is so smart~!" Sanji gushed.

"Shut it, love-cook," Zoro growled.

"You wanna go, shitty swordsman?!"

Before Zoro could retort, Nami cut in. "ANYWAY," she shouted over them, "The only thing we have to go on is the plant Luffy found."

"Robin and I can start research after breakfast!" Chopper chirped.

"Ow! That sounds like a SUUUUUPER idea, Chopper-bro!" Franky cheered, giving the little reindeer a thumbs up.

Chopper blushed happily. "You moron, saying nice stuff like that won't make me like you~!"

* * *

A few hours later, the crew was gathered on the lawn, Robin and Chopper sitting on the bench with everyone else gathered around them. It had taken a little while, but between the two of them, the doctor and archeologist were able to piece together what was happening. It was an…unusual situation. For them at least. They had never encountered something like this before. And there really wasn't much they could do about it. This wasn't a battle with two clear cut sides. There was no enemy to fight. There wasn't even a person involved. It was all chance. Simple, unluckily-lucky chance.

And the Straw Hats couldn't fight that.

"So do you know what's happening?" Zoro asked bluntly, arms crossed over his chest.

"Yes," Robin replied calmly.

"It's not what we originally thought," Chopper continued, "We missed some details when we were searching the first time around."

Usopp's brow furrowed. "So Luffy hasn't been put to sleep?"

"No he has," Chopper said, "The substance is in no way harmful to him. But the effects are more complicated than we originally believed."

"What do you mean, Doctor-bro?" Franky asked.

"I mean this," Chopper said, holding up a book and showing the crew a picture of a plant bud. The same plant that was embedded in their captain's wrist.

"The sap we had discovered earlier is the initial cause of Luffy's sleep," Robin explained, "But the plant is what is affecting us."

Nami frowned. "How does that work?"

"The plant is connected to Luffy," Chopper said, "Meaning that he's the base. The plant serves as a conduit between his mind and those around him."

"So that dream all of us had last night," Sanji said slowly, "really were Luffy's memories."

Robin nodded. "That is correct. This specific part of the Arbor Somniatis is known as the Flos Memorias, or Flower of Memories. The way it works is rather simple actually," she said, pointing to the picture of the bud in the book Chopper was holding, "When it initially choses a host, it remains in this hibernation state. While the sap from the Arbor Somniatis is still in effect, the bud will slowly bloom into a flower, the blossom reaching full maturity when the sap is purged from the host's system."

"How is it giving us dreams then, Robin-san?" Brook asked.

"Pollen," Robin answered simply.

"The flower bud has been releasing a steady flow of pollen the moment it attached itself to Luffy," Chopper continued, "And we, being in close proximity to him, have all been in contact with this pollen."

"So the pollen is what's making us see Luffy's memories?" Nami asked.

Chopper nodded. "The pollen is what links us to Luffy's mind when we sleep."

Franky tilted his head to the side. "But Zoro-bro naps all the time," he said before turning to Zoro.

Zoro shrugged. "I haven't been seeing anything. Just normal dreams."

"The plant's effect appears to only work at night," Robin said, "We couldn't find much on it, but the plant seems to have a special connection to the moon."

"So let me see if I've got this straight," Nami said, "For the next two weeks or so, every night, we're going to be seeing Luffy's memories."

Robin and Chopper nodded.

Usopp frowned. "Isn't that, I don't know, an invasion of privacy?" he asked, "I mean everyone has things they keep to themselves and Luffy never talks about his past. If he'd wanted us to know, he'd have told us, right?"

The crew went quiet at that. It was true. This was all happening without Luffy's knowledge or consent. There could be things in his past that he didn't want them to know anything about. All of them had their secrets. And Luffy had never pressed them to reveal what they kept locked away. He didn't care. Even when Nami's history had been offered to him on a silver platter, Luffy had walked away. He didn't need to know their history, didn't need to know all of the hardships that had been though. Because to him, they were nakama. And that was all the rubber boy needed to know. Everything else was just extra. And if it ever was revealed, like Robin's during the Enies Lobby incident, he carried on as usual. The new knowledge changed nothing. Heck, he practically ignored it. His nakama were his nakama. And that was all he cared about.

But this time, it was different. This time, it was Luffy's past being offered up on a silver platter. The crew had never pried in each other's business. In actuality, they never even offered up information. They knew enough about each other to know how to take care of each other. And those boundaries were never pushed. But the situation had changed. Now, the knowledge was being forced on them. Possibly without their captain's knowledge. Usopp was right; this was a huge invasion of privacy.

Zoro gave a frustrated sigh and frowned. "There isn't really much we can do about it," he said, "We don't really have a choice in the matter."

Nami bit her lip. "But…"

"Look," Zoro said, "The situation is out of our control."

Sanji took a drag from his cigarette. "Hate to say it, but Marimo is right."

"It doesn't change the fact that it's an invasion of privacy," Usopp said, arms crossed, "You really want to sit there and watch what Luffy went through during Marineford?"

He was met with silence.

"I do not think Luffy-san would want us to see that," Brook said softly.

"We may not have a choice in the matter," Robin stated matter-of-factly, though her voice was gentle.

Chopper shifted nervously. "Do you think Luffy would be mad at us if he knew?"

Franky sighed. "I don't really think Luffy-bro would be mad at us, that's not really how he does things."

"But he wouldn't be completely fine with it," Nami pointed out, "Luffy might be an idiot, but that doesn't mean he's completely emotionless. He might not get mad at us, but he'll still probably be upset."

"Of course he will," Zoro said, "And he's entitled to. We don't have his permission to learn what we're going to be seeing at night."

Usopp frowned. "So then what do we do?"

"We watch the memories," Zoro replied, and before anyone could voice a protest, the swordsman pinned them all down with a hard stare. Rank was not something that was often pulled in the crew. It was something that was rarely ever needed. The crew knew the difference between Luffy's orders and his childish wants. They knew when he was being a captain and when he was being their friend. And Zoro was the first mate. It was not something that was ever expressly acknowledged, but it was something that everyone knows. With Luffy out of commission, Zoro was in charge. And right now, he was pulling rank. This was something that not even Sanji could protest. "And when Luffy wakes up," Zoro continued, "we will tell him exactly what's happened. We will not hide anything from him. We will tell him everything we've seen, no matter how bad it is."

"He has earned our honesty and so much more," Robin commented softly.

The crew exchanged looks and, slowly, they all agreed, silently hoping that nothing would change.

* * *

Robin blinked herself awake, sitting up and finding herself back in the white void. Around her, her crewmates were slowly coming to.

"Looks like we're back," Franky said.

Robin hummed. "So it would appear."

"So now we just wait?" Usopp asked.

Zoro yawned and stretched. "Not much we can do."

Usopp sighed. "What's with this void anyway?"

"What did we say last night?" Nami asked, "It was his subconscious? It seems like the best theory."

"The books Robin and I looked up didn't say anything about it," Chopper said, "There wasn't really any other information other than what we told you."

"It's a very rare plant," Robin commented, "It's not surprising that there is so little information on it."

"Yohohoho! Robin-san and Chopper-san are so smart!" Brook exclaimed.

Sanji sighed. "It's bit strange, but given that it's Luffy, I actually think it's pretty tame."

"I have to agree with Cook-bro," Franky said, "I always thought Luffy-bro's head would be a little more…I don't know, random?"

"Well, I'm not complaining," Nami said.

And then, just as the night before, the white void began to shift. Color began to darken the white and shapes started to fill the void. In a matter of seconds, the Straw Hat crew was standing in the middle of a dense forest. As the plants finished forming, the sound rushed in to fill the scene, wind, the rustling of plants, bird calls.

"These trees are huge!" Usopp exclaimed.

"I wonder what Luffy's doing in the middle of a jungle," Chopper wondered aloud.

"Knowing Luffy? It could be anything," Sanji said.

Suddenly, Luffy's voice rang out through the trees. "I already told you! I'm gonna be Pirate King!"

The crew turned to see Garp carrying little Luffy by the cheek. Luffy dangled helplessly in his grip, rubber body bouncing and stretching as the marine walked through the trees. The boy struggled, slapping uselessly at Garp's thigh in an attempt to break free.

"Ow! It's Luffy-bro's crazy grandpa!" Franky said

"So it's Garp's fault that Luffy is here," Robin observed.

"You don't think he's gonna throw him in a ditch or something do you?" Chopper asked, remembering the "training" that Garp had mentioned when he came crashing through the wall in Water 7.

"Pirate King my foot!" Garp bellowed.

"Lemme go!" Luffy yelled.

"Not only do you eat a Devil Fruit, but now you're spouting nonsense as well!" Garp ranted, ignoring Luffy's protests. "Luffy, both you and Ace are destined to become great marines!"

"No way," the Straw Hats said in unison, waving their hands dismissively.

"I can't see either of them being marines," Nami said, then paused thoughtfully, "Well maybe Ace, he's polite enough, but Luffy? No way in hell."

"Ace was a Whitebeard commander," Zoro reminded, "He was polite because he chose to be. You don't get a rank and reputation like that by saying 'please' and 'thank you'."

"Luffy-san as a marine would be interesting to see," Brook said, "Only I don't have eyes to see with! Yohohohoho!"

"I dunno, Brook," Sanji said, "I think it'd be more creepy than interesting."

"Damnit," Luffy whined, "I'm made of rubber, why does it hurt?! Lemme go, Gramps!"

"Leaving you in that peaceful village was a mistake," Garp continued on, fuming, "Of all things, the Pirate King?!"

"Yeah," Luffy replied matter-of-factly.

"You imbecile!" Garp exclaimed. Luffy reached out and grabbed a tree as they passed it, wrapping his rubbery arms all the way around the trunk as Garp kept carrying on. "Becoming friends with that damn Akagami no Shanks is completely unacceptable!"

"I'm gonna become," Luffy started just as the tree began to uproot and slam into Garp's back, making him let Luffy go, "strong just like Shanks!" Luffy finished with a grin, still clinging to the tree.

"Hey!" Garp yelled.

The crew snickered; even tiny, their captain was a stubborn bastard.

Garp grumbled and snatched Luffy up again, argument starting anew. Eventually, the pair reached a shack and Garp placed Luffy down on the ground while he pounded on the door. "Dadan!" he yelled, "Get out here!"

Luffy looked around curiously. "What's this place?" he wondered aloud before beginning to run around looking at anything and everything.

A large woman with curly orange hair and a cigarette held between her lips threw open the door, two men trailing behind her. All three of them looked stressed and paled slightly at the sight of the marine.

"G-Garp-san!" the woman stuttered.

Garp grinned. "You seem to be doing well."

"Who the heck are these people?" Zoro asked.

"No idea," Nami replied, "But this doesn't really seem like the ideal place to bring a child," she said looking around the clearing and eyeing the tree line suspiciously.

"Luffy growing up in unusual circumstances isn't really that surprising," Sanji said.

"It would explain a lot," Franky added, scratching his head.

"Yohoho! Luffy-san has a strange childhood already!" Brook exclaimed.

"You gotta be kidding me!" the large woman exclaimed, "I wish you'd just leave me alone for a change! That Ace is already ten years old you know!"

The Straw Hats perked up at that.

"Ace lives here?" Usopp asked looking around trying to spot him.

Chopper started bouncing up and down. "You mean we get to see him again?"

"Looks that way," Nami said with a grin, "I wonder what Ace was like as a kid."

"Is he?" Garp asked with a chuckle, "Has it really been that long already? How's he doing?"

"It's nothing to laugh at," the shorter man said, "If he gets any wilder, we won't be able to control him at all!"

"Wild?" Sanji asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.

"Well, even though they're different, Ace is still Luffy's brother," Usopp said.

"True," Sanji conceded, "But I can't really see it," the cook said, trying to picture it in his mind.

"Just take him with you!" the short man continued.

"Anyway," Garp said carelessly, grabbing Luffy by the back of his shirt and hoisting him up as he ran by, "Take care of him too."

Nami deadpanned. "Let me get this straight, Garp was pissed about Luffy meeting Shanks so he dragged him through the woods to this random house full of a bunch of strangers and he's just going to leave him there?"

"It would appear so," Robin said, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes.

Nami face palmed. "What is wrong with this family?"

"Luffy-san's family certainly is a strange one. Yohohoho!" Brook said.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Now, Luffy, say hello," Garp said.

Luffy raised a hand in greeting. "Yo."

"Who's that kid?" the taller man asked.

"He's my grandson," Garp stated matter-of-factly.

The trio standing in the doorway freaked out. "WHAT?!"

"We gotta take care of another one?!"

"Garp's – I mean – Garp-san's grandson?!"

"Not happening!" the three exclaimed in unison.

Garp put Luffy down and the boy resumed his exploring as his grandfather crossed his arms over his chest. "Well," he said, "you've made your decision. But if you want to spend the rest of your life behind bars…or will you raise him?"

"They're criminals?" Nami and Usopp dead panned together.

"That are apparently being blackmailed into taking care of Luffy and Ace," Zoro said. He paused a moment. "Those tactics sound familiar actually…"

"Are you implying something about Nami-swan?!" Sanji raged.

Zoro rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You said it, not me, love-cook," he stated with a smirk.

"Why you –!"

"Alright, bros," Franky interrupted, "Let's stop it there."

Chopper and Brook sighed in relief while Robin chuckled.

"I've turned a blind eye so far," Garp continued nonchalantly, "But you've committed as many crimes as here are stars in the sky," Garp said, throwing his head back and laughing.

"No way!" the trio cried.

The tall man rubbed the back of his head. "Well, true, I don't wanna go to prison," he started.

"But prison actually seems really tempting," the short man finished, "Our hands are full with just Ace!"

"And now you want us to take your grandson too?!"the woman cried, "I'm sure that kid's just as much of a monster, isn't he?!"

"Yes," the Straw Hats said in unison, "Yes, he is."

"What a crappy looking mountain hut," Luffy said bluntly, making his crew sigh.

"Even as a child," Nami said, rubbing her temples.

"Some things just don't change," Zoror said with an amused smirk.

"You wanna die, you brat?!" the woman yelled.

Luffy ignored her and ran after some dragonflies as they flew past his face. As the adults continued to argue, Luffy chased the bugs, coming to a stop when something hit his cheek.

"What was that?" the boy asked, putting a hand to his cheek and then jerking away, "It's spit! Ewwww!" Luffy turned around, looking for the source. "Who's there?!" he yelled.

His eyes landed on a figure sitting on the body of a bear. It was a boy a few years older than him. He had black hair and freckles and was dressed in a simple tank top and shorts, a pair of black flats on his feet. His arms were crossed over his chest and he held a metal pole in one hand that was covered in flecks of dirt and blood. His eyes were dark and cold and filled with an anger that was far too deep for someone so young.

The Straw Hats stared.

This boy looked startlingly familiar.

"Is that…is that Ace?" Sanji asked, visibly shocked by what he saw.

The others who had met Ace were in a similar state. The Ace that had met back in Alabasta was light and smiley and cheerful. He was polite and kind and showed genuine fondness for their captain. This boy, though, he was shadowed. There was an anger, a hatred, that seemed to radiate off of him. He was nothing like the man they had met two years ago.

"Hey! You!" little Luffy yelled, glaring up at the older boy, "Apologize! That's gross!"

Garp turned at Luffy's yell. "Oh! Ace!" he said with a grin as he began to walk over to them.

"Hey!" Luffy called up, "Apologize!"

Ace just glared down at him coldly.

"Luffy, that's Ace," Garp said, coming to stand by his grandson, "He's three years older than you. Starting today, you're going to be living with these people, so you better get along, got it?"

"Ehhhhhh?!" the trio cried.

"You just decided by yourself?!" the woman cried.

Luffy and Ace continued to glare silently at each other as Garp threatened the three in the background. The trio finally – reluctantly and entirely out of fear – said they would take care of Luffy as well. Garp grinned and said goodbye and turned on his heel and left, calling over his shoulder that he'd visit when he had time.

The Straw Hats were still too stunned by Ace to comment.

They just couldn't wrap their heads around it. How could someone like this kid grow up to be the man they met in Alabasta? He looked like he hated Luffy. And to top it off, Luffy looked like he hated Ace as well.

"Well, they didn't grow up together, so maybe it just takes them a little while to warm up to each other?" Nami asked nervously.

"Yohoho! Ace-san does not look very friendly," Brook said, concerned. It wasn't natural for a child to be that dark. Brook had been around for a long time, and while he had spent roughly fifty years of that time alone, he had seen a lot. That kind of darkness did not belong in children. It was the kind of darkness that lived in men that had seen too much of the world, that had seen the darkness and greed and hate that lurked in the shadows and corrupted everything it touched. It was the kind of darkness that scarred.

Ace jumped off his perch and walked straight past Luffy, ignoring the boy when he called out and demanded once again that Ace apologize. Luffy fumed and pulled his straw hat down over his head. Then he paused.

"_I'm entrusting this hat to you."_

Shanks voice echoed in the crew's head, making them jump in surprise.

"What the hell was that?" Zoro asked.

"It sounded like Shanks," Chopper added.

Robin hummed thoughtfully. "Perhaps Luffy was thinking it," she suggested, "And since we are viewing these events how he remembers them, perhaps we will hear or see things that he was thinking of during the time the memory takes place."

"That…makes sense," Usopp said slowly.

"Robin-chwan is soooo smart~!" Sanji exclaimed.

"Shut it, dart brow."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Will the two of you knock it off?!"

"Yes, Nami-swan~!"

"Whatever."

The rest of the crew just ignored them.

* * *

The crew was now inside the hut, which was filled with people, all of whom were fighting over food. Luffy, Ace and the woman, whose name they learned was Dadan, were sitting around a fire in the center of the room. Ace was devouring some meat, completely ignoring the world around him while Dadan sipped some sake. Luffy frowned at the small bowl of rice in his hand.

"That's all they're giving him?" Usopp asked, eyes wide.

"That's not even a bite to him!" Nami exclaims.

"I wonder if he will be able to survive the gnawing hunger," Robin pondered aloud.

"Oi! Not that time, Robin!" Usopp yelled.

Little Luffy tilted the small bowl and swallowed its contents in one go. He held the bowl out to Dadan. "I want another bowl!" he said. When Dadan paid him no mind, he called again. "Pops, I want another bowl!"

The crew just sighed.

"I'm a woman!" Dadan yelled at him, "And don't you realize where you've been left?!"

"No," Luffy stated matter-of-factly.

"Then I'll tell you," the woman said, an evil grin coming to her face, "This is the hideout of the mountain bandits who rule Mt. Corvo, the Dadan Family!"

"Mountain bandits? I hate mountain bandits," Luffy deadpanned.

"Shut it, you damn brat! You gut any idea how much trouble you being here causes us? If you don't want to be here, that's fine by us! Just go somewhere and die like an animal!" Dadan yelled.

"She – she isn't serious, is she?" Chopper asked fearfully.

Zoro narrowed his eyes. "Don't know," he said.

"Either way, it's obvious that they don't want the kids there," Sanji commented.

"Now, now, Boss…" Magra said, attempting to calm he large woman.

"I'm still hungry," Luffy whined, completely ignoring Dadan and looking at the meat Ace was eating, "I want some meat…"

"This meat is the meat Ace hunted and brought back! Because of that, he gets a place at our table!" Dadan said, "The life of a mountain bandit is harsh! Starting tomorrow, we're going to work you half to death! Cleaning! Laundry! Shoe and weapon polishing! Theft, looting, swindling, and killing! And listen…you're not gonna say a single word to Garp about the stuff we make you do!"

"No way in hell," Nami deadpanned.

"No way," Usopp and Chopper echoed.

"Yohoho! I don't think I've ever seen Luffy-san clean before!" Brook exclaimed.

"Or do what he's told," Sanji mumbled.

"One bowl of rice and one glass of water a day!" Dadan continued, "That's all I'm giving you. Anything else you'll have to get for yourself. You'll have to raise yourself to be strong," she said with a smug smile.

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Usopp asked, "I mean, Luffy's only seven."

"Alright," Luffy said, causing Dadan to face fault.

"Well, apparently he has no problem with it," Nami said dryly.

"You're fine with it?!" Dadan cried, "Aren't you supposed to cry or something?!"

Little Luffy just grinned. "Gramps threw me into the jungle once," he said matter-of-factly, "Earthworms, snakes, frogs, mushrooms…if this is a jungle than there's plenty of stuff to eat!"

Usopp and Nami sighed. "Only you, Luffy," they said.

Robin chuckled. "It seems Luffy has already learned a great deal," she commented.

"Yeah, from his crazy grandfather's training," Sanji said.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Usopp exclaimed, "Garp left Luffy with a bunch of random bandits…to teach him how to be a strong marine."

The crew was silent as that sunk in before collectively face palming.

"What kind of logic is that?!" Nami cried.

"There is something seriously wrong with this family," Zoro muttered, arms crossed over his chest

Robin smiled. "It certainly is interesting."

"Yohohoho! Indeed, Robin-san!" Brook laughed.

"Besides," Luffy carried on, "I'm gonna be a pirate someday! So I've gotta deal with at least this much!"

Ace got up and left then, having finished his food. Luffy turned to him, eyes following the older boy as he headed toward the door.

"Where's he going?" Luffy wondered aloud as he got up and went after Ace, completely ignoring everyone else.

"Hey!" Luffy called, only for Ace to shut the door in his face.

Luffy stopped for a moment, staring blankly at the door in front of him. He tilted his head to the side a bit, a look of confusion furrowing his brow for a moment, as if he didn't understand what had just happened. Then he blinked and shook his head before nodding determinedly and pushing the door open.

"Hey!" Luffy called again, chasing after Ace, "Wait up! Hey!" Ace finally turned around and pinned Luffy down with his dark eyes. Luffy just grinned up at him. "I'm Luffy! I'm not angry that you spat at me anymore! It's nothing to get worked up about! Let's be friends!" the boy said with a grin, waving his arms. Ace just stared at Luffy, a blank mask on his face. "Are you going somewhere?" Luffy asked.

Suddenly, Ace lashed out, kicking the tree he was standing next to in the trunk. It snapped and the tree began to fall.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Nami yelled in disbelief.

"I told you!" Usopp cried, "The older brother of a monster is an even bigger monster!"

Ace kicked the tree again and it began to roll down the hill. Straight at Luffy. Luffy turned and ran, screaming. While the sight was rather comical, the Straw Hats were trying to wrap their heads around what Ace had just done. The tree continued to roll until it plowed over the rubber boy.

"If he wasn't made of rubber, Luffy's bones would have been crushed to dust," Robin observed calmly.

"How can you be so calm about that?!" Usopp screeched.

Zoro frowned. "Is this really the same Ace?" he wondered aloud.

The crew sobered some at that.

"You guys have met him before?" Franky asked.

"Back in Alabasta," Sanji confirmed, "He was…very different."

"He was happy," Nami said, brow furrowed, "He actually smiled and he was very polite to all of us. We only spent a few days with him before he left, but he seemed very kind."

"And he cared about Luffy," Usopp added, "Asked us to look after him and everything."

"I wonder what happened to make him like this," Chopper pondered.

"He sounds like he was a lovely person," Brook said.

"Yeah," Franky said, scratching his head, "But the way he is now…I don't know how Luffy could stand it if this is how Ace treated him."

Luffy pulled himself out from under the tree and dashed off after Ace again. He ran until he found a bridge over a large gorge, Ace in the middle of it. As he stepped on it, the bridge moved and Ace turned to look over his shoulder, surprise crossing his features when he saw Luffy. It quickly vanished though, replaced with an annoyed frown as he turned and began to walk toward Luffy.

Luffy straightened, visibly brightening at this, and smiled.

Ace's hand tightened on the metal pole in his hand and he suddenly charged forward, bringing the pole down in an arc and knocking Luffy off the bridge.

The Straw Hats cried out in surprise as Luffy began to fall.

Ace's eyes were dark as he glared at Luffy, filled with hate and anger. And there was a second when Luffy's eyes met his. The younger boy froze, his terror forced back by something else as he looked into those cold, shadowed eyes. The crew felt Luffy's curiosity and sorrow as he looked into Ace's eyes, his confusion and worry.

But then the moment was over and Luffy was falling, a scream automatically ripping itself from his throat as Ace just stared coldly after him before carrying on his way.

"What the hell?!" Zoro shouted furiously.

"That could have killed him!" Nami cried.

"I don't think Ace would have cared," Robin said calmly, gaining the others' attention, "There is no way that Ace has gained any knowledge of Luffy's Devil Fruit abilities so soon after meeting him. Ace did that not knowing that the fall would, more likely than not, not harm Luffy in any way."

"So he was trying to kill him?" Usopp asked, shocked.

Robin shook her head. "Not necessarily," she said, "I suspect that he just didn't care what happened."

"Shit," Sanji swore, "Just what the hell happened to make Ace like this? As a kid?"

"I do not know," Robin replied softly, eyes troubled, "But I think we can safely assume that the answer is far from pleasant."

* * *

It was night now and the Straw Hats watched as Luffy stumbled through the trees back to the bandit's hut. Apparently, the small boy had spent roughly a week in the wilderness and it showed. He was beaten and battered, covered in dirt and blood. His clothes were torn and he was covered in wounds that looked suspiciously like claw and bite marks.

The bandits freaked out; more over the fact that he was still alive than relief over the fact that he had returned. Rather than feed him, bathe him, or treat his wounds, Dadan tossed him into one of the back rooms that held Ace's slumbering form and yelled at him to go to sleep. Which he did. Instantly.

The crew might have laughed if they weren't so frustrated and confused at the situation. For one thing, Ace was clearly not the same person they had met. For another, Luffy's new guardians didn't seem to give a flying fuck about him. If it were any other child in this situation, the treatment would be considered severe child abuse and neglect. As it was, Luffy was only dealing with it because he was, well, Luffy.

The next morning, Ace left the hut and Luffy chased after him just like before, calling out to him. And just like before, Ace brushed him aside. More often than not in violently dangerous ways that could have easily resulted in his death had he not been a rubber human. And the cycle continued: Ace would leave, Luffy would follow, Ace would ditch Luffy, Luffy would be stuck wondering the woods for days until finally making it back to Dadan's hut, and then the process would repeat.

The crew could do nothing but watch as Luffy chased Ace day after day. The older boy completely ignored him, never speaking a word to the rubber boy and hardly even glancing in his direction.

One day, though, long after Ace had escaped Luffy's sight and months after he had initially started chasing Ace, their future captain was simply hiking through the trees when he reached the end.

"It's the end of the forest," Luffy announced to himself in surprise as he climbed over the last hill. When he reached the top, his eyes widened as he looked around. "Wow! What's this place?" he asked before climbing down and starting to explore.

"It's just a trash heap," Nami said, looking around, "It's not anything special."

"I think it's a bit more than that," Usop said, gesturing toward some people that appeared to be living here.

"It appears to be the slums of the city," Robin said, pointing to the wall and the majestic looking buildings on the other side.

"Wow," Chopper said, "Those buildings look really pretty! I bet the city is really nice!"

"But it's such a contrast," Sanji commented with a frown, "It's like the city suddenly goes from rich to poor. Like there's no middle ground."

"Maybe there isn't," Zoro said, arms crossed over his chest, eye narrowed in the direction of the city.

Little Luffy looked like a kid in a candy store. He was still looking for Ace of course, calling his name every now and then. But it was like he suddenly had a new playground and didn't know where to start. He was climbing over everything, squeezing through cracks and crawling under mounds of junk.

"This should not be as cute as it is," Nami said, watching as little Luffy explored.

Robin smiled. "He is rather cute, isn't he?"

"Luffy-bro found a SUUUUUUPER playground!" Franky exclaimed, striking a pose.

Eventually, Luffy reached the end of the junkyard, in the distance, he could just make out Ace disappearing into the trees and an excited grin formed on his face as he ran after the older boy.

"I wonder why Luffy keeps going after Ace," Usopp said, "I mean it's clear that Ace wants nothing to do with him."

Sanji shrugs. "Luffy's not really the type to give up on anything; he's a stubborn bastard."

"Yeah," Chopper said with a worried frown, "But Ace is being really mean to him."

"Perhaps Luffy-san has a reason for chasing Ace-san that we do not know," Brook suggested.

Usopp and Chopper blinked. "Like what?"

"I do not know," Brook said, "But things are hardly ever as they seem with Luffy-san, yes?"

"Shitty captain does have his moments," Sanji murmured softly.

Luffy wandered through the trees until he reached a small clearing. The boy looked around until he spotted Ace perched in one of the trees. Another boy was with him, one who looked to be the same age as Ace with blond hair and a top hat. I looked like part of the tree had been cut open, with some kind of trapdoor on the branch that Ace and the boy were sitting on. As Luffy crept closer, he began to pick up bits and pieces of their conversation.

"…wonder how much we need for a pirate ship," the blond boy said.

"Don't know," Ace replied, "Ten million or one hundred million maybe? We've got a long way to go."

"A pirate ship?!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly as he stepped into the clearing.

Nami facepalmed. "Luffy, you moron," she muttered.

Zoro snorted. "Luffy couldn't be stealthy if his life depended on it."

"Or tactful," Ussop added.

The crew nodded in agreement.

Ace and the boy jumped up, immediately on guard. The blond boy slammed the trapdoor shut and both of their faces were lined with panic. Luffy didn't seem to notice though as he carried right along.

"You guys!" Luffy called loudly, "Are you guys gonna become pirates? I wanna become one too!"

While Luffy just stood there giggling and grinning like an idiot, Ace and the boy exchanged looks and quickly climbed down the tree. Running straight up to the younger boy, they both smacked him over the head.

"Be quiet!" they yelled.

The Straw Hats sighed.

"Well, at least we know he was always like this," Sanji said with a sigh.

Robin chuckled. "Indeed."

"Luffy-san has led a very interesting life for one so young," Brook said.

"Yeah," Franky agreed, "But why exactly is he letting those two tie him to a tree?"

The crew looked and, sure enough, Luffy was now tied to the tree's giant trunk.

"You have got to be kidding me," Nami and Usopp deadpanned in unison.

But little Luffy was just grinning like he always did. "Ace, I didn't know you went this far every day!" he said.

"Shut up," Ace said, an annoyed frown on his face.

"Well at least Ace is talking to Luffy now," Chopper said, "Even though it isn't very nice."

"Seriously," Nami said, frustration and confusion clear on her face and in her tone, "How did they go from this to the pair we met in Alabasta?"

"Well Luffy clearly does something," Zoro said dryly, "Try as Ace might, Luffy has a way of getting to you in the end."

"Very true," Robin commented.

"So you're saying it's just a matter of time?" Usopp asked skeptically.

"Yes," Robin replied simply with a knowing smile, "After all, Luffy has a knack for rooting out old wounds and healing them. Even if he doesn't mean too."

"So this is that Luffy kid you were telling me about?" the blond boy asked.

"Yeah," Ace grumbled, glaring at Luffy, who didn't seem at all effected by it, "And it looks like he finally followed me all the way here. I didn't take any of the walkable routes either…"

"You told him about me?" Luffy asked Ace excitedly.

"I told him how annoying you are," Ace said with a frown.

"And how empty-headed you are," the other boy added.

Luffy just laughed. "Oh yeah?"

The other boy just looked at him. "You don't even realize that we're dissing you, do you?"

"No," the Straw Hats deadpanned, "No, he doesn't."

"Are you a friend of Ace's?" Luffy asked, completely oblivious, "Be my friend too!"

"Nice to see his mentality hasn't changed," Zoro said dryly, remembering how Luffy had pretty much decided for all of them that they were part of his crew.

The crew snickered.

"Shut up," the boy said, though not as coldly as Ace, "I'm not going to be your friend."

Luffy blinked. "Oh. Then what's your name?" he asked innocently.

"Sa – I'm not telling you!" The blond boy exclaimed, almost giving it to him anyway before turning to Ace, "This is why I told you to live with me. The daily round trip training on the mountain turned out to be bad! What should we do?"

Ace was quiet for a moment. "He found our secret. He'll tell somebody if nothing is done," he said seriously, "We gotta kill him."

"WHAT?!" the Straw Hats yelled.

"Ace is like, what, ten?! And he's contemplating murder?!" Nami yelled.

"Yo! That's messed up!" Franky said, "Kids shouldn't be thinking like that!"

"Alright," the blond said with a nod, "Let's do it."

Luffy's smile dropped. "WHAT?!" he yelled, "Don't kill me! Help me! I don't wanna die!"

"Shut up, you idiot!" the boy said, shoving Luffy's head back in an attempt to make him stop screaming.

"Sabo, kill him already!" Ace said.

"What?!" the blond cried, "You do it!"

"I've never killed anyone before!" Ace yelled.

"Me neither!" Sabo yelled back as Luffy continued to scream and cry in the background, "And I don't know how!"

"Help me!" Luffy screamed.

"Shut up!" the older boys yelled in unison.

Nami facepalmed. "Well, I was worried," she mumbled.

"But looking at them now," Usopp continued, crossing his arms.

"There was nothing to worry about," Chopper finished. The three of them sighed, resigned to the insanity that was their captain.

Zoro didn't look as relieved though. "There's still the fact that it was Ace's solution to the problem," he said.

Robin hummed thoughtfully. "I doubt Ace made the decision out of malicious intent," she commented, "It is merely the logic of a child; I doubt Ace understands what death entails at this age."

"He hunts," Zoro pointed out.

"True," Robin conceded, "But killing an animal and killing a human are two very different things. If Luffy had been a mere beast, he would already be dead. But he is a human child and Ace and this Sabo are hesitating because of it."

"Robin-chwan is so smart~!" Sanji gushed, twirling in her direction. Robin just smiled calmly.

"Yoho! I believe Robin-san is correct," Brook said, "Ace-san does not appear to be making this decision out of any dislike toward Luffy-san."

Zoro didn't say anything, but his arms remained crossed and his eyes were narrowed, and the crew knew he was displeased.

"I hear a voice from the forest!"

"It sounds like a kid's voice!"

Ace and Sabo froze glancing over their shoulders.

"Shit! Someone's coming!" Sabo whispered.

"Set him free for now!" Ace said, "We gotta move from here before they find our treasure!"

Luffy stopped crying at that, grinning as Ace and Sabo untied him. Sabo grabbed the younger boy and all but threw him in the bushes before he and Ace dived in after him.

"I wonder what's going on," Usopp said.

"Dunno," Chopper said, "But the people coming sound big."

"Everybody knows those brats around here. Ace and Sabo. Are you sure it was Ace who took the money?" a man said as the new group came into view. The speaker was a large, bulky man with long hair and slanted blue eyes. He carried a sword in one hand and the frown on his face seemed to be permanent.

"Yes…We're sorry," one of the other men said. He was wounded, arm heavily bandaged and in a sling. "We shouldn't have let our guard down."

"Some little punk he is," the large man says, "He can't just steal our money! If Captain Bluejam hears about this, he's going to kill all of us!"

"Pirates?" Nami asked, head tilted to the side, "I wonder what they're doing in a place like this."

"Cashing in treasure, maybe?" Sanji suggested, "Ace did steal from them apparently."

"Damnit!" Ace whispered from where the three boys were crouched behind the bushes, a grimace on his face, "I didn't know those thugs were working for Bluejam!"

Sabo looked at his friend with wide eyes. "You mean that money you stole was from them?" he asked, eyes slightly frantic.

"I shouldn't have taken that money," Ace said seriously.

"He has a real sword," Sabo muttered, "That's Porchemy who works under Bluejam. He's a total psycho! Have you heard of him? They say he scalps his opponents after they lose a fight with him! While they're still alive!"

Sabo glanced to the side and realized Luffy was gone. "Huh? Where'd he…"

Sanji groaned. "Oh, don't tell me!"

Sabo and Ace whipped around, eyes wide, just as Luffy started screaming.

"Lemme go!" little Luffy yelled, "What do you want?! Lemme go! You bastard!"

The entire crew facepalmed.

"Only you, Luffy," Zoro muttered.

"Who's this little shit?" Porchemy asked, holding Luffy up by the front of his shirt.

"Help me!" Luffy yelled, flailing uselessly, "Ace!"

Nami groaned, rubbing her temples. "Seriously? I mean, I know he's dumb, but seriously?"

"Luffy-bro has just gotten himself into a load of trouble," Franky said.

Interest flashed across Porchemy's face. "Did you just call for Ace?" he asked seriously, glaring hard at Luffy.

"So what?" Luffy asked, not at all intimidated by the glare.

"Do you know Ace?" Porchemy asked.

"He's my friend," Luffy said matter-of-factly.

"Shitty captain never did know when to keep his mouth shut," Sanji grumbled.

"Oh, but he did just try to kill me," the boy adds bluntly as an afterthought.

The crew face faults.

"I don't know if you know about this," Porchemy said, "But your friend stole some money from us today. You don't know where it is, do you?"

Luffy's face went blank. He knew exactly where it was. He had seen it. But if he told…

The boy looked away, puckering his lips and whistling. "I-I don't know," he said.

"Oh come on!" Nami yelled, "Even Usopp could do better than that!"

"Yeah!" Usopp cried before blinking in realization, "Hey wait, what do you mean "even Usopp"?!"

"Geez," Sanji grumbled, "I know Luffy's a shitty liar, but this is just ridiculous."

"Lying is definitely not Luffy's forte," Robin said.

"Luffy-bro's about to get into some big trouble!" Frany said, "So not SUPER!"

"Fine. If you don't know, I guess we have no choice," Porchemy said, a dark grin coming to his face, "We'll just have to help you remember!"

"Hey!" Luffy cried as the pirate began carrying him away, "Where are you taking me?! Lemme go, you bastards!"

"He'll be okay, right?" Chopper asked worriedly.

"Well, he's made of rubber," Sanji said slowly.

"But there are still things that can hurt him," Zoro said, face a stone mask, eyes narrowed and body tense.

Nami shuddered. "I have a bad feeling about this…"

* * *

Luffy was tied to a pillar in an old run down shack, still kicking and screaming. "Lemme go! I'm not gonna tell you anything!"

Porchemy stood across from him, a giant wooden hammer in his hand.

"A hammer's not gonna do much to Luffy-bro," Franky said, a hint of relief in his voice.

The large pirate stalked forward, raising the hammer. "You little shit!" he sneered before bring the hammer down on Luffy's head. When the dust cleared, the Straw Hats saw that little Luffy was pinned under the hammer. It didn't last long though, the boy literally bounced back up, the hammer flying off him.

"I told you that my body turned to rubber after I ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi," he said matter-of-factly, glaring up at Porchemy. The three men in the background started to freak out, while Porchemy watched calmly.

"When we finally meet Shanks," Usopp said, "We really need to thank him."

Sanji nodded. "We're lucky that Luffy was dumb enough to eat that fruit," he added, "Can you imagine what trouble he would get in without it?"

The crew shuddered, fervently thanking Shanks for being irresponsible enough to leave a Devil Fruit out where a seven-year-old Luffy could get to it.

"Shut up!" Porchemy ordered his men before turning back to Luffy, "A Devil Fruit, eh? Looks like you had a real one. Get me a pair of gloves."

Nami tilts her head to the side in confusion. "Gloves? Why the heck would he go for gloves when the hammer didn't work?"

Chopper nodded in agreement. "Gloves don't work on Luffy."

"Unless they are covered in spikes," Robin said, eyeing the gloves being handed to Porchemy warily.

The crew pales.

"Oh dear," Brook said softly, gripping his cane tightly.

The pirates string Luffy up so that he's dangling from the rafters. The boy glared at them defiantly.

"Listen up, brat," Porchemy said, pulling on the gloves, "That money your friend Ace stole if very important to our pirate crew." He reached out and grabbed Luffy's head. "And you know where it is. So I need you to tell us."

"No!" Luffy yelled determinedly, unfazed by Porchemy's glare.

The pirate didn't say anything. He let Luffy go, causing the boy to swing back on the rope and as he swung back, Porchemy punched him across the face with enough force to shatter bone, blood spattering on the ground.

Nami's eyes went wide and her hands fly to her mouth to cover her horrified yelp. Chopper, Franky, and Usopp cried out and Sanji cursed a blue streak under his breath, hands fisted in his pockets. Brook's from was tense, frozen in shock and anger. Robin watched, face an emotionless mask, but her eyes were shadowed. Zoro was glaring furiously at the pirate and if looks could kill, this man would be long dead. The swordsman's arms were crossed tightly over his chest, almost as if to restrain himself.

"You don't want to make a pirate mad!" Porchemy exclaimed, "Our Captain, Bluejam, is brutal!"

Little Luffy was trembling, lips pressed together in a thin, white line as blood ran down his face and tears gathered in his eyes. He grit his teeth and swallowed loudly, as if choking back a sob, before he finally broke.

"IT HURTS! I'M SCARED! HELP ME!" he screamed.

Porchemy just drew his fist back, a cold glare on his face, and delivered another blow, silencing Luffy's screams. "You guys go looks for Ace and Sabo," he ordered his men, "We don't have time to stand around!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

It went on for hours.

Luffy screamed and cried, but still, he told nothing. Eventually it got to the point where the rubber boy didn't even have the energy to scream anymore; he just dangled there, silently taking hit after hit. Zoro was the only one who didn't look away. Even Robin, who had seen far more in her life than she had ever cared to, reached the point where she could no longer watch her little captain be tortured. Zoro made himself watch though, made himself commit every detail to memory. If his captain had faced this at seven, then he could watch it at twenty one. If he was going to be first mate to the Pirate King, he was going to stand by everything his captain was. So Zoro watched, body tense and eyes cold, as Luffy was beaten.

"Spit it out already!" Porchemy yelled, panting heavily.

"P-P-Porchemy-san! It's no use doing it anymore!" the injured man cried, "He doesn't have the energy to even scream now! I bet he won't say anything and to be honest I can't stand watching it, it's too cruel! Show some mercy!"

Porchemy turned to the man, a furious glare on his face, and kicked him, sending him flying into the wall. "Look for Ace and Sabo if you have time to speak for the brat!" he shouted, a desperate edge entering his voice, "Can't you see that we're the ones that are in danger here?! We're already too late to give that money to Captain Bluejam!" he roared, turning right back around to land another blow on Luffy's small body.

"Answer me!" Porchemy yelled.

Luffy swallowed a few times, trying to get back his breath. He gave a slight shake of his head. "I won't say," he croaked, voice hoarse.

"You little shit!" Porchemy growled, punching Luffy yet again, "Sop trying to keep a secret like a grown up!" Another punch. "SAY IT!"

"I won't!" Luffy said stubbornly, "I won't say it! I won't say it!"

Porchemy suddenly relaxed, arms dropping to his sides. "Fine," he said calmly.

The Straw Hats' heads snapped up, fear flashing across their faces. It appeared that Porchemy was done hitting Luffy. And as relieved as they were, something like that in a situation like this was never good. They weren't just going to cut Luffy free and send him on his merry way. He had information they needed after all, even if he wouldn't give it. People in situations like Luffy's were never just let go.

Things didn't work like that.

So as Porchemy walked over to the wall and hefted up his sword, the crew felt cold dread sink into their stomachs (except Brook, who didn't have a stomach).

"Then you die," the pirate hissed quietly.

And just as he lowered his arm, ready to cleave Luff'y head from his body, one of the walls to the shack exploded, wood breaking apart and flying everywhere.

"STOP!" Ace and Sabo screamed as they entered the shack, metal poles raised and ready for battle.

The crew sagged in relief. It had been hours. And their little captain had been tortured that entire time and somewhere in the back of their minds, the crew was upset and furious that it had taken them _this long_ to come for the boy. But the fact that they were here now and that Luffy had a chance over-rid everything else.

Ace wasted no time rushing forward, smacking one of the men across the face with his pole and landing in front of Luffy. For once the boy's dark, hate filled eyes were not directed at their captain, but rather the men who had hurt him. And had the crew been lesser people, they would have shuddered at the shadows in Ace's glare.

"That's him, Porchemy-san!"

"He's the one who stole our money!"

"What?!" Porchemy cried, looking at Ace with new interest.

Luffy looked up, fresh tears running down his face. "A-Ace!"

Ace charged Porchemy, jumping up and bring his pole down in a smooth arc, but the pirate caught him around the throat.

"Showing up on your own makes things much easier!" Porchemy said with a dark grin as Ace struggles in his grip, "I didn't know what to do, your pal was so tight-lipped!"

"Ace!" Luffy cried out, worry and fear clear on his face.

"L-Let me go," Ace choked out, "Sabo!"

The blond boy appears behind the pirate, bringing his pole down on the large man's head, making him drop Ace.

"That hurt pretty bad you know," Porchemy said, slowly turning to face Sabo, blood dripping from the new wound on his head. Sabo is visible scared and Ace is trying to force himself off the ground. "You know what happens when you mess with grown-ups, don't you?!"

"Your opponent is right here!" Ace cried getting back to his feet, "Sabo, help him!"

Sabo nods. "Be careful! He has a sword!"

Ace charges Porchemy again, but this time, he uses his smaller size to his advantage, dodging the pirate's blows and landing his own.

Sabo, meanwhile goes for the lackys, filching a knife from one of them and using it to cut Luffy free. He catches the boy and makes to leave, calling over his shoulder. "Let's get out of here, Ace!"

"You go on ahead!" Ace called, not turning away from Porchemy.

"Is he serious?!" Nami and Usopp cried.

"I know Luffy said that Ace was strong, but this is ridiculous!" Sanji said.

"You idiot!" Sabo cried, "Come on!"

"Once I face an enemy, I never run!" Ace said determinedly, glaring.

"What was that, brat?!" Porchemy yelled.

"Don't!" Sabo yelled desperately, "He's on a completely different level than the thugs in town!"

"Don't you get it?" Porchemy sneered, "Playtime is over now! You stole our money! You will obediently return it to us, you insolent brat! I'm sure you realize you've done a bad thing. I won't hurt you if you give the money back," he said, pointing his sword at Ace.

Ace just used his pipe staff to smack it aside. "We're gonna make much better use of it!" he said, glaring up at the pirate.

"What did you say? Enough of the bullshit!" Porchemy cried.

"You…just wait here a minute!" Sabo said to Luffy before dropping him on the ground and running to stand by Ace. "You're being too reckless! Why are you always doing this?!"

"I never back down!" Ace said seriously.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Porchemy yelled, swinging his sword at Ace. Ace tried to counter, but the sword cut clean through the metal pipe and left a thin cut on the boy's forehead. "If I lose to a pair of kids, I'll quit being a pirate!" Porchemy yelled, a slightly crazed gleam in his slanted blue eyes.

"We'll make you quit!" Ace and Sabo yelled as they rushed the large man.

Franky whistled as they watched the two boys fight the pirate. "Those little bros sure can fight," he said.

"They work well together," Sanji commented.

Luffy just sat where he was and watched in awe and Ace and Sabo beat Porchemy. He was in too much shock to say anything when Sabo scooped him up again and he and Ace bolted, leaving Porchemy's unconscious for in the shack.

Nami sighed in relief. "At least it's over," she said, a hand over her heart.

* * *

The three boys were wrapped up in bandages. Luffy was crying, babbling about how scary the whole thing was, Ace was wrapping up his metal staff in an attempt to fix it, and Sabo was leaning casually against one of the rocks.

"That's a real bad habit you've got, Ace," Sabo said, arms crossed over his chest, "Refusing to run even when you're up against real pirates. Why are you so eager to die?"

"It doesn't feel right," Ace muttered, testing his staff and completely ignoring Sabo, "It was better before."

Sabo just gives a resigned sigh.

"Anyone else finding themselves sympathizing with Sabo?" Usopp asked curiously as he watched the boys interact.

"Yes," most of the crew replied.

"I wonder who he is," Sanji said.

"Luffy's never mentioned him," Nami added with a shrug.

"It's not like he mention Ace before we met him," Zoro commented.

"Or Garp," Franky added.

Everyone except Brook shuddered slightly, remembering their meeting with the crazy, old marine.

"Luffy-san doesn't talk much about himself," Brook points out.

"That's true," Nami said after a short moment of silence, "We don't really know anything about him other than his dream."

"That's a lie," Zoro said immediately, "We know everything about Luffy that we need to. He is our captain. We are his nakama. If you are telling me that after everything we've been through together, you know nothing about Luffy, then you haven't been paying attention to the things that matter." Zoro's voice is almost cold as he speaks, looking directly at Nami.

"Zoro is correct," Robin jumps in softly, defusing the tension, "We know everything that we need to know about Luffy. His past is extra information. It will not affect our trust or faith in him. He has nothing to prove to us."

"After this, Bluejam's crew will never forgive us," Sabo continued, "They'll be after us from now on."

"That was so scary!" Luffy sobbed, "I thought I was gonna die!"

Ace jumped down from his perch. "YOU'RE SO ANNOYING! SHUT UP!" he roared, "HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO CRY FOR ANYWAY?! I HATE WEAKLINGS AND CRYBABIES! YOU REALLY PISS ME OFF!"

"What the hell?" Nami asked, a deep frown on her face, "This is ridiculous!"

"Ace-san is very harsh," Brook said.

"It's like he doesn't know how to be nice," Usopp added.

Robin frowned. "Perhaps that is not far from the truth," she said softly, watching the dark boy thoughtfully.

Much to everyone's surprise, Luffy clammed up immediately. Sabo and Ace exchanged surprised looks.

"Thank you," Luffy said bowing his head and sniffling as his tears started up again, "For…for saving me!"

"Why you!" Ace yelled.

"Oi, oi," Sabo placated, "He's just thanking us."

Ace calmed some at Sabo's voice, but not much. "I don't get it!" he shouted, "Why didn't you tell them?! Those guys would kill women and children without a second thought!"

Luffy sniffled. "If I'd told them…you wouldn't have been my friend."

Ace stared in disbelief. "That's better than dying isn't it?" he asked, something almost accusing in his voice, "Why do you want to become my friend that much?"

"Because…"

"Didn't I give you a hard time up till now?" Ace pressed, a confused and frustrated frown on his face, "Why did you still follow me this far?"

Zoro snorts. "At least e acknowledges what he did," the swordsman muttered.

"Because…" Luffy said softly, pausing a moment before lifting his eyes to Ace's and saying firmly, "Because I have nobody else to trust!" Ace blinked, backing off slightly at Luffy's outburst. "I can't return to Fushia Village, and I hate mountain bandits. If I didn't chase after you, I'd be all alone! Being alone is worse than being hurt."

The Straw Hats are quiet at their captain's declaration.

"Luffy-san is very wise for someone so young," Brook said softly, solemnly, "Though I am concerned as to how he gained such wisdom."

"He seemed very lonely in the village," Chopper commented, "He only talked to Makino and Shanks and his crew."

Something in Ace's expression softened slightly as he met Luffy's eyes and something like recognition showed on his face. Luffy stared right back at him. "What about your parents?" he asked slowly.

Luffy shook his head. "Just Gramps, nobody else."

Ace pressed his lips together in thought and Sabo watched him carefully from the corner of his eyes. "It isn't so bad when I'm around?" Ace asked.

"Mm," Luffy nodded.

"And it'd be bad if wasn't here?" Ace continued, voice soft.

Luffy nodded again. "Mm!"

"You want me to live?"

The Straw Hats all turned to look at Ace at that question. The boy's voice was quiet, almost a whisper. His eyes were hard and he had a white knuckle grip on his staff. Sabo was looking at Ace with a worried expression, a sadness in his dark blue eyes.

"Of course I do!" Luffy cried without a moment of hesitation.

Something like surprise and…_hope_ flashed across Ace's eyes before he ducked his head, his hair shading his eyes. "I see," he said softly, turning around so his back was to Luffy and scratching the back of his head, "But still, I hate spoiled kids like you."

"I'm not spoiled!" Luffy yelled angrily, jumping off his perch on the rock, "I'm strong!"

"Strong?" Ace shouted, "How are you strong?! You're supposed to be a man but you keep crying all the time!"

"Have you ever been punched with a spiked glove?! I'm only seven! I won't cry when I get to be ten like you! I'll be much stronger!" Luffy shouted back at Ace, glaring up at the older boy.

"I didn't cry when I was seven either!" Ace yelled, pressing his forehead up against Luffy as they butted heads, "You idiot! Don't compare yourself to me!"

"I'm gonna be stronger than anyone else! I promised Shanks that I'd become a great pirate!"

"A pirate?! You?!"

"Thats right!"

"As if!"

"I'm going to be one!"

"Well…at least they're…getting along?" Nami asked slowly, staring at the scene playing out before them.

The crew had never imagined that Ace and Luffy could ever have a full blown argument like this. Then again, they never imagined that they could hold anything but affection for each other either.

"Alright, that's enough," Sabo said calmly, stepping between them, "I've got a problem."

The anger melted right off of Luffy's face, replaced with curiosity. "Problem?"

Sabo nodded. "Because of what happened today, Bluejam's crew will be trying to find and kill will all three of us, right?"

Ace blinked. "Well, yeah. I guess."

"I've been living in this forest, but it's close to their base in Pirate's Cove," Sabo said, "What do you think would happen if I fell asleep somewhere and they attacked me?"

"You'd die," Ace said bluntly.

Luffy nodded. "You'd definitely die."

"Right. So I've gotta ask you something," the blond said with a grin.

As the three boys pulled together in a huddle, the scene began to fade out, returning to white once again.

"Looks like our night is coming to an end," Robin said.

"Does this mean Ace and Luffy are friends now?" Chopper asked, "I didn't like seeing them fight."

"And that Sabo kid," Usopp added, "What's up with him?"

Zoro crossed his arms. "We're just going to have to wait until tomorrow night."

"Luffy's been through a lot more than I ever expected," Nami said softly.

Sanji shrugged. "It's not like it matters," he said, "What happened, happened. And it made Luffy who he is today. It doesn't change anything."

"Yohoho! I rather like Luffy-san!" Brook exclaimed, "He always seems to be having an adventure!"

The crew chuckled at that.

"Luffy lives and breathes adventure," Nami said with a grin.

Chopper smiled. "I wonder what's going to happen next!"

* * *

**Yay! Ace and Sabo! XD**

**Thoughts? Bad? Good? Were the memories and the crew's comments balanced well? I know there isn't really much of my own, non-canon memories, but I wanted to get meeting Ace and Sabo into one chapter. And this chapter is pretty long as is, so...There will be more non-canon memories in the next chapter though. Promise!  
**

**Until next time,  
**

**~Elri**


	4. Third Petal

**FUCKING FINALLY. JESUS CHRIST THIS CHAPTER TOOK FUCKING FOREVER. AND WHY THE HELL IS IT SO LONG?! WHERE THE FUCK DID ALL OF THIS STORY COME FROM?!**

…**Sorry. Just had to let that out.**

**Anywho~**

**I am sooooooo sorry for this late update! I know I said I would have it out earlier, but I kept getting dragged away. My little sis graduated so we were having a party and since I was the one that was already on summer break and also had no job, clearly that means I have nothing better to do than clean the house and go shopping for party stuff. But the party is over now, so hopefully, I can get away with sitting down and typing. Keyword being hopefully. Mom is a bit nuts right now with all the stress from the party; she might still need help so that she can stay sane.**

**And I'm sick. Hooray! Not really. It's a big pain in the butt. Stupid cough won't go away. On the plus side, there's tea. Lots and lots of tea.**

**Anywho, this chapter turned out to be WAY longer than I expected. And by 'way' I mean 'Holy frick what happened why is this thing over 50 pages long WHERE DID ALL OF THESE WORDS COME FROM?!'. So yeah, another part of the delay. I majorly overestimated myself. I had this chapter all blocked out (I knew exactly where I was going to end and everything; I actually made an in-depth outline for this chapter!) and I guess I just didn't realize how much writing it would require. *shrugs* On the plus side, long chapter for you guys! Longest one yet actually. By like a lot. Oh well.**

**This chapter is basically ASL shenanigans. There is fluff, angst and everything in between. It's all about brother bonding.**

***warning: to those of you that read the author's note my latest update to Learning Freedom and already know what happened, this is basically the same thing but more detailed because this is the story that was actually plagiarized***

**I know that it has been a rather long time since I updated. I apologize for that. However, before we start with the chapter, there is something I think all of you should know.**

**I almost deleted this story.**

**I gave the idea very serious consideration. And while it was mostly for this story, I considered doing the same to my other One Piece stories as well.**

**When I started posting on this site, I had sworn to myself that I would never do something like this. However, I never considered the possibility of the reason I considered doing such a thing in the first place. **

**And that reason is this story was plagiarized. **

**Both the second and third chapter of this story were copied – almost WORD FOR WORD – and then published under someone else's name. And when confronted about it, this author said they "based" their work off of mine and then had the gall to ask me when I was going to update my stories.**

**For one thing, if you are basing your work off of mine, it is not a word for word carbon copy. It is a story that revolves around ideas that I have come up with in your own words. Not mine.**

**For the second thing, why should I post the next chapter of a story that you are stealing from? So that you can take those ideas too? Why should I continue to publish work if you are going to take it and then claim it as your own?**

**I have never been more insulted in my entire life.**

**I am aware that this story follows canon very closely. I am aware that in some parts of this fic, I am just narrating canon events. I am aware that in these parts the events and the dialogue use during these events are not mine. I know this. I am not laying claim to it. But the words I use to describe those events? The ones used to actually write the story? Those are MINE.**

**When I read your story and see my words reflected perfectly back at me, do not tell me that you are basing your work off of mine. Do not tell me that you are following the manga. Because you are not. You are plagiarizing. You are stealing. You are claiming my hard work as your own. And that is not something that I will tolerate.**

**The words that I use in the stories I write are mine and mine alone. It does not matter if it is the same canon scene that hundreds of other authors have written about before me. It does not matter that the events themselves do not belong to me. The words I write those scenes with do. And if I see them word for word in your story, then that means your story belongs to me. I do not care if you "wrote" it. You used my words, my ideas, my views. That makes your story mine. You lost your claim to it the moment you stole from me.**

**When I read your fic and see my work quoted almost word for word back at me with a few words like "shock" changed to "surprise" and "he" changed to "she," and then you tell me that you didn't copy me, I am hurt. Very deeply hurt. Especially, since you have basically just republished one of my own stories. Not only using my words, but non-canon scenes that I completely made up. I was not asked for permission to use those scenes. I was not credited in any way. And even if I had been asked or credited, that does not mean you copy WORD FOR WORD what I have written and put it in your own fic. You use your own words. Because if you do not, the story you have just written is not yours. It is mine. And you have no right to it.**

**I have no problem with people wanting to use my ideas. None at all. Send me a PM, **_**ask for my permission,**_** and I will gladly give it. So long as you give credit where credit is due, you have my blessing to use any ideas, headcanons, characters, or plot of mine that you like. As long as you make it your own. I would love to read other's interpretations of what I've written; I would be honored to.**

**I am not honored to read my own words under someone else's name.**

**This incident is the biggest reason for the delayed updates. It is extremely hard to find the motivation to write when you know that someone is taking something you worked so hard on and claiming it as theirs. And it is such a sad thing because I enjoy writing. I enjoy thinking up these stories and writing them down. I enjoy publishing them so that all of you can read them. But when something like this happens, I find it next to impossible to get the words in my head onto paper. It was like I had subconsciously put a mental block on my ability to write. It wasn't like writer's block. When you have writer's block, you don't know what you want to write. I knew **_**exactly **_**what I wanted to write. Down to the last word, to the last detail. But I **_**couldn't. **_**For the longest time, I was **_**physically unable**_** to write anything down. And this fact is something that both hurt and frustrated me to no end.**

**Even at this very moment, as I am publishing this, I still feel the pain from this insult. I suspect that I will never truly get over it.**

**It is insulting. So very insulting. **

**If you can tell me that the work is yours after I have read it and compared it to my own and found far too many similarities to be a coincidence, I can only assume that you simply refuse to acknowledge what you've done or you are too ignorant to understand it. If you cannot comprehend the extreme and profound **_**hurt**_** someone feels when they see their work published under a different name, if you cannot understand the pain that can cause, not only to the creator of the work, but to the people who enjoy it, then you have no business on this site or any site like it. It is as simple as that.**

**After a somewhat long internal debate, I decided I would continue with my fics. Because it is unfair to punish the majority for the actions of one. It is also unfair to punish myself.**

**The words I use in my stories are mine. They are my voice, my feelings, my heart, my soul. They are MINE. And I will defend them to the best of my ability. And if the result is that I alienate someone in the process by defending what is mine, so be it. Chances are, if you did something like this in the first place, you are not worth my time.**

**I am not sorry for saying this as they are my true feelings on the matter. I am, however, sorry for the fact that they needed to be said in the first place.**

**Now that that has been said, we can move on.**

***end rant***

**To my anonymous reviewers:**

**kagome higurashi: **I'm working on it! Here's the next part!

**Byungwha: **I'm going, I'm going! I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. :)

**Guest(1): ** I updated! Please don't be sad! I'm sorry I took so long!

**anonymous:** I'm glad you are enjoying it!

**Guest(2): **I wrote more.

**Guest(3): **The reason for stopping is stated above. It was not a fun time. But I've started writing again! :)

**EC: **I updated!

**Guest(4):** I UPDATED! I HOPE IT LIVES UP TO YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

**Guest(5):** I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you desperate! It was just really hard for me to write! DX

**Aria Eragon: **Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep the Straw Hats in character and involved. It's more of a challenge than I originally thought it would be.

**Guest(6) : **I am updating now. Once again, I apologize for the delay.

**Aklea Nerriadre: **I'm glad you are enjoying it. I wanted the memories to seem a little more real, if you understand my meaning. In other memory fics I've read, a majority of the time, the memories just come across as flat to me. Like the events are just being stated: "This is a thing that happened." I wanted the memories to be _lived_; not just by Luffy, but the crew as well. If that makes any sense.

**Guest(7): **I DID. I'M SORRY FOR THE DELAY! I'll try to do better. It just took me a while to overcome my mental block…

**MJ-RaM'XD: **You are precious. It's reviews like yours that make me keep writing. Thank you for your support. I shall do my best to please!

**Guest(8): **I'm continuing! I promise!

**Guest(9): **Glad you like it! I did put that scene in, so I hope you enjoy it! :D

**Guest(10): **Thank you! I will keep writing, I promise.

**Guest(11): **You are correct. Unfortunately, you can't post direct links in messages on this site; if you want the url to show up, you have to put spaces in it and separate it into chunks.

**Guest(12): **I did put the scene with Garp beating them up in. I'm not putting the part with old man and the giant tiger in. I did things a bit differently.

**Christina: **Thank you! I wrote more. :)

**StrawHatTemmie: **I'm glad you like the story. However, canonically speaking, Zoro is older than Luffy by two years. Post-timeskip, the crews ages are as follows: Luffy – 19, Zoro – 21, Nami – 20, Usopp – 19, Sanji – 21, Chopper – 17, Robin – 30, Franky – 36, Brook – 82. These are their actual ages; I didn't make them up because I wanted Zoro to be older than Luffy. He is actually older than Luffy. Hope this helps.

**Guest(13): **Well, I'm happy you like the ASL boys. Because now you get a whole chapter of them! XD

**Guest(14): **Here you are, dear. A shiny, brand new chapter, ready for reading. :)

**Wow that was a lot of reviews.**

**Just want you guys to know that I appreciate all of you, anonymous or otherwise. Even if you didn't know it, you have all been incredibly supportive and I would like to thank you for that. I would also like to thank the person who brought the plagiarism to my attention. I'm going to leave you anonymous for now because I want to avoid possible drama, but please know that you have my utmost gratitude. **

**I would also like to dedicate this chapter to ****samettikettu****, who was a lovely friend while this was all going on. She let me rant at her and she was very supportive. So. This chapter is for you, Ame!**

**Well I think that's a long enough author's note.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE. I do, however, own this story, its plot, and the words used to write it. Please do not take them or I will report you for abuse.**

**ONWARD!**

* * *

_Chapter 3_

_Third Petal_

_A Bond of Brotherhood_

* * *

The Straw Hats were quiet as they sat in the kitchen the next morning. It wasn't so much because of Luffy's absence – though that was admittedly part of it – but the crew was digesting the information they had been given the night before.

Luffy's past wasn't anything like any of them expected. Granted none of them knew anything about Luffy's past in the first place, but he seemed much too happy and easy going now to be the quick tempered boy they saw in the past. In two nights, they had learned so much. And some of it worried them.

Like Ace.

Ace was most definitely not the same person they had encountered in Alabasta.

"So," Usopp said, breaking the silence, "Anyone have any ideas about what the heck is going on?"

Robin hummed as she took a sip of coffee. "Not at all," she replied easily, "I believe the best way to treat the situation is to treat it how we treat Luffy himself."

Zoro grunted. "You mean be ready for anything and everything all the time?"

Robin smiled calmly. "Precisely."

Usopp sighed. "You have a point," he said, "But it's just so…shocking, I guess. Ace was…" the sharpshooter trails off, unable to find a word to accurately describe Ace's younger self.

"Different," Sanji supplied, taking a drag from his cigarette, "He was colder, distant."

"His eyes were very old for someone so young," Brook said softly, clearly troubled.

"Luffy-bro's ainki was definitely mad at someone," Franky adds.

"He reminds me of myself," Robin interjected, making everyone turn to her.

Nami frowned slightly. "What do you mean, Robin?"

"His eyes," she said simply, "They were like mine. He has no reason, no purpose. He simply is."

Chopper tilted his head to the side. "I don't understand."

"Do you remember the last question he asked Luffy?" Robin asked calmly, her eyes sad.

The Straw Hats paused at that.

_You want me to live?_

Robin looked down into her cup. "A child does not ask that question unless they have been told otherwise."

"But why the heck would anyone say that?" Nami asked, brow furrowed, "And to a kid?"

"The world is a very cruel place, Nami," Robin said softly, "No one needs a reason. It is just something that is."

"I wonder what made him change…" Usopp wondered aloud after a beat of silence.

Zoro gave a snort. "You really need to ask?"

The crew smiled, chuckling slightly. The answer was obvious. Luffy. Because it was always Luffy.

"What about that other kid?" Sanji asked, exhaling the smoke from his cigarette, "Sabo?"

"Luffy's never talked about him before," Chopper said.

"Luffy-bro doesn't talk about his past much," Franky commented.

Nami sighed and shrugged. "We didn't even know about Ace until we saw him in person. For all we know this Sabo could be out there somewhere just waiting to drop in."

Robin frowned. "But if that was the case, why didn't Sabo show up at Marineford to try and stop Ace's execution?"

"Perhaps he couldn't?" Brook suggested.

"Brook has a point," Usopp said thoughtfully, "None of us could get there to help and I don't know about you guys, but I had no idea what was going on until after everything was already over."

Chopper nodded sadly. "It was the same for me."

"Me too," Nami said, shoulders slumping.

The rest of the crew looked down at the table. It was the same for all of them. By the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late to help. Ace was already dead; the Whitebeard pirates had already lost. There was nothing they could do to help.

"It is not unreasonable to think that Sabo-san was in the same position as us," Brook said softly, breaking the sudden, gloomy silence.

"Not unreasonable, no," Robin said.

Zoro stood. "We have no way of knowing," he said, walking towards the door, "It's best not to dwell on it."

With that he walked out. And the crew was left wondering if he meant Sabo or the fact that Luffy had been alone when he needed them most.

* * *

Sanji sat up with a groan, rubbing his hand across his face. When he looked up, he was met with the sight of the now familiar white void. "Back again," he sighed.

"Indeed, Sanji-san," Brook said, appearing next to him as he pulled himself to his feet.

Around them, the crew began pulling themselves together, looking around the white void. As soon as everyone had gained their bearings, just like the two nights before, the void began to shift until they were inside a room. They were back in Dadan's hut.

"What the hell is going on?! ACE! LUFFY! Who is that?! Why is there another of you brats here?!"

"Well they sure know how to start things off," Nami drawled.

Ace, Luffy, and Sabo were sprawled out on the floor in a nest of blankets, Dadan standing over them scowling. Luffy made an incoherent whining sound, sitting up and briefly looking up at Dadan before collapsing back in a heap and curling into the blankets. Ace sat up next, with a loud annoyed groan.

"Grauh, you're so noisy in the morning," he grumbled, "Don't you know what time it is?"

He didn't even wait for an answer before he fell back onto the blankets. Sabo sat up immediately after, grumbling before he fell back between the other two, limbs flung every which way.

"It's almost scary how similarly they reacted," Usopp mumbled.

Robin just smiled. "I believe it is the case of most children that when morning comes, they do not like being woken up."

"And if you have to wake up to an old bag yelling at you," Zoro deadpanned, arms crossed over his chest.

The crew watched, stifling snickers as the three boys were finally roused into wakefulness. Sabo plastered a huge grin on his face while Ace and Luffy stood back to watch.

"Hi! I'm Sabo," the blond said, "I'm going to be staying here from now on."

"Guess this is what they decided," Sanji commented.

"It would be better for the little bros to stick together," Franky said.

"But, here? Really?" Nami asked, "Dadan doesn't want anything to do with them as it is."

"I don't really think they care," Usopp muttered, "Besides, where else would they go?"

Nami just shrugged.

"YOU CAN'T JUST DECIDE THAT ON YOUR OWN!" Dadan shouted before blinking, "Wait, Sabo? I've heard of you! You're one hell of a little brat!"

Sabo grinned. "Really? And I heard you're an old bag!"

The crew face palmed.

"He's exactly like them!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Don't bother collecting information you don't need, damnit!" Dadan yelled as the other bandits face faulted, "I don't want to deal with any more unruly brats!"

Sabo just kept grinning. "But you're a nice old hag who can't turn down any requests from other people too, right? I heard that you're an old hag who's like a man among men!"

"Oh my god," Nami groaned, hands over her face.

Zoro tilted his head to the side as he watched the scene. "Uh. I almost feel sorry for her."

Sanji and Usopp snorted.

"I'm a WOMAN!" Dadan shouted, staring down at the blond.

Little Luffy threw his hands over his mouth to smother his giggles while Ace smirked next to him. After a long moment, Dadan deflated with a sigh.

"Ace! Luffy! Sabo!" Dadan yelled, turning away from them, "Since you're all under my care you'd better hurry up and get to work!"

The three boys grinned at each other, knowing they had won.

"Thanks, Dadan!" Sabo said.

Then as one, the three of them turned on their heels and dashed out the door.

"HEY!" Dadan yelled, "Luffy you're supposed to do the laundry and clean the house!"

"She's still on that?" Sanji asked in disbelief.

"Luffy-bro couldn't clean anything to save his life," Franky said.

"Yohohohohoho! Does Luffy-san even know how to clean?"

"Probably not," Zoro deadpanned.

"No way!" Luffy cried, turning around to stick his tongue at Dadan. "Ah! Ace! Sabo! Wait for me!"

"Why do I get the feeling that something big has just happened?" Usopp asked.

Robin smiled her calm, mysterious smile. "Perhaps it has."

* * *

Ace and Luffy stood across from each other, Sabo standing a short distance away.

"What are they doing now?" Chopper asked.

"Begin!" Sabo called.

Little Luffy suddenly charged forward, spinning one of his arms in a circle while Ace stood still, his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm going!" Luffy yelled, "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"

The rubber boy threw his fist forward, only for it to bounce back off the ground and punch him in the face instead.

Usopp, Chopper, Franky, Sanji, and Brook brust into laughter. Nami groaned. "Oh my god, how can he be that bad?"

Robin chuckled. "Devil Fruit users don't automatically know how their Devil Fruit works," she explained, amusement twinkling in her eyes, "It takes most people many years to master them and in some cases to even find out what their Fruit does. Some don't ever find out."

"That it true," Brook said, calming down, "I had no idea what my power was and then I only had a hunch to go on until I was nothing but bones! Yohohohoho!"

"He's come a long way, that's for sure," Sanji said.

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Did you expect something else?"

Ace sighed. "I told you," he said suddenly rushing forward and kicking Luffy in the face, "What the hell are you trying to do?!"

Sabo grinned. "It's over," he said, turning to write something down on the board behind him. When the Strawhats took a closer look they found that it was a score board. And Luffy's score was zero all the way around.

"Uh," Zoro said, looking at the board, "So that's what they're doing."

"Mm? What do you mean Zoro?" Chopper asked.

"They're training," the swordsman answered, "Fighting each other a set number of times and recording wins and losses."

"Ow! It looks like Luffy-bro isn't doing so hot!"

"Luffy did say that Ace kicked his ass all the time when we ran into him in Alabasta," Sanji said thoughtfully.

Nami rolled her eyes. "He seemed so proud of the fact to."

Sabo and Ace sparred this time, with Luffy watching. The fight was longer this time around, each boy giving as good as he got; but, eventually, Ace won. Next, Luffy fought Sabo. He tried using his Devil Fruit again and again it backfired on him.

Franky whistled. "Luffy-bro just isn't catching a break."

Ace rolled his eyes and sighed. "I've already told you," he said, "Your fruit isn't useful for anything."

"Crap! It won't work!" the rubber boy yelled, flailing his arms childishly, "Just a little more…Again!"

"No," Ace said, crossing his arms, "We can only fight one hundred times per day. Wait until tomorrow."

"A hundred?!" Nami yelled

"No wonder they look so beat up," Usopp mused.

Sabo was busy writing in the final scores while the other two argued. "Damnit," he mumbled, "Ace beat me two more times."

The crew peeked over his shoulders and saw that while Luffy had not won a single fight against either boy, Ace had beat Sabo 26 to 24.

"Looks like Ace-aniki is the strongest," Franky observed.

"The older brother of a monster is an even bigger monster," Usopp muttered.

Chopper nodded. "But poor Luffy…he didn't win a single fight!"

"When I'm ten, I'll kick your ass!" Luffy yelled at Ace.

"By then, we'll be thirteen," he answered indifferently turning away, "We better go look for some food."

The three boys headed out into the trees until they came to a river filled with crocodile that were much larger than them.

"They aren't," Nami and Usopp deadpanned together.

Robin smiled. "I believe they are."

"Yohohohohoho!"

"We'll have crocodile," Ace decided from in perch in a nearby tree.

"Crocodile mean is delicious," Luffy said, already starting to drool.

"Not surprising," Nami said.

"Not at all," Usopp agreed.

"Not in the least," Chopper added.

"Luffy," Sabo said, "Make sure not to get eaten, alright?"

"Just watch," Ace said, "You'll just get in the way."

The words weren't even all the way out of Ace's mouth before Luffy was jumping out of the tree.

"Crocodile meat!"

"I told you to watch!" Ace shouted as he and Sabo jumped after him.

"Tch, shitty Captain didn't listen even back then," Sanji grumbled.

"Luffy was just as troublesome now as he was back then," Usopp said.

"Perhaps more so," Robin commented, "At least now he knows how to use his powers to defend himself."

The crew once again thanked Shanks for Luffy's powers. The thought of having to deal with Luffy as he was without them made them shudder.

"And of course they beat it," Nami said, watching as the boys cheered over their prize.

* * *

A cloaked figure walked through Gray Terminal, pulling a long, short cart toward the wall that separated the Terminal from the city.

Chopper cocked his head to the side. "Who's that?"

Usopp shrugged. "Don't know."

Franky frowned and leaned down towards Robin. "You don't think…?"

Robin just smiled up at him knowingly and put a finger to her lips.

"Hey, stop, what's this?" the guard asked as the figure passed.

"Crocodile leather for sale," the figure said, pulling the cover back to reveal the animal.

"That's…" Sanji started.

Zoro nodded. "Yup."

"Ohh! Very clever!" Brook exclaimed.

The guard jumped back in surprise at the sight of the crocodile. "A-alright. G-go ahead."

The cloaked figure moved through the gate. The city on the other side was not as high class as some of the crew were expecting; the buildings were dirty and a bit rundown. Still, it was much better living conditions than Gray Terminal.

"Looks like this is the rough part of town," Franky said.

"I expected a bigger class rift," Nami said thoughtfully, "Given what we could see from that junkyard."

"I suspect this town has different classes just like any other place," Robin commented, "But here it seems more defined. Given what we've seen so far, I would say that the lower classes live toward the edge of the city, while the higher classes live towards the center."

"Robin-chwan is so smart~!" Sanji cried, hearts in his eyes.

Nami nodded, completely ignoring Sanji. "That makes sense; those buildings over there look to be in much better condition," she said, pointing to some buildings in the distance that seemed to almost shine in comparison to the ones they were currently surrounded with.

"It seems you're carrying something valuable there," a thug said, approaching the cloaked figure with some other men. When the man stayed quiet, he said, "Answer, you bastard."

"Shut up, you pathetic hoodlum," a voice came from under the cloak. It was a voice the Straw Hats all recognized.

Zoro snorted, an amused smirk on his face, while Robin covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smile. "Oh dear," she said.

"What?!" the thug cried.

A metal pipe crashed into the man's ankle, knocking his feet out from under him.

"Before you rob somebody, you should choose your targets more carefully!"

The cloak was thrown off to reveal Sabo, Luffy, and Ace stacked on top of each other, metal poles in their hands and confident smirks on their faces.

"Ah! It was them the whole time!" Chopper exclaimed.

"Amazing!" Usopp shouted.

Nami just sighed and rubbed her temples.

"It's those brats!" one of the thugs cried.

But before anyone could do or say anything more, the trio was on them.

Franky laughed. "Looks like Luffy-bro and his anikis know a thing or two about living on the rough side of town!"

The crew watched as the trio knocked the thugs aside before climbing back on top of each other and donning their cloak again, resuming their walk. The city around them soon changed, the buildings becoming cleaner and more pristine. The traded in the crocodile skin for a rather large chunk of money, which pleased the boys as they talked about their pirate fund – and Luffy's hunger.

The crew noticed though, that the three's cloaked form was getting many a looks from the people around them, most of their expressions containing disgust. It was true that the cloak the boys used stuck out in comparison to the fancy, clean clothes those around them wore, but the cloak itself wasn't so bad, just dirty.

"I don't know if I like this place," Chopper said, wrapping his arms around himself, "I don't like those looks."

"It's a bit strange really," Nami observed, "Considering where they got it, that cloak is in pretty good condition and pretty clean. But in comparison to all this…" she trailed off, waving a hand to encompass the city.

"It's like there's not a speck of dirt anywhere," Usopp said, looking around.

"It is very clean here," Brook agreed, "Even the streets seem dirt free."

"Great," Zoro drawled, "A city of neat-freaks."

Eventually, the boys arrived at a restaurant. The host inside bowed and welcomed them as the door opened, but when he straightened and caught sight of who had just entered the restaurant, he paled and became somewhat frantic.

"W-wait a minute!" he stuttered out, holding his hands up in an attempt to stop the boys, "You can't come in here!"

"Eh? Why can't they go in?" Chopper asked.

"Probably because they're dressed like a bum," Zoro answered, arms crossed over his chest.

"This city seems to value cleanliness," Robin observed, "Anything dirty is probably associated with the lower classes. It is likely that they will not be served at any store they enter because of their attire."

"That's a shitty reason not to feed someone," Sanji grumbled, stuffing his hands into his pockets to restrain himself.

There was shifting around under the cloak and Sabo's hand appeared, holding a gold crest in his hand.

"I'd like a private room," Sabo announced, voice ringing with authority.

The host gapped for a moment, eyes wide. "T-that emblem…!" he stuttered before recovering and bowing low, "It is an honor that a noble like you would visit my restaurant. We'll serve you right away!"

"That was pretty cool," Ace whispered, "Where'd you get it?"

"I, uh, found it in town," Sabo answered.

Brook tilted his head to the side. "…Noble?"

Nami's eyes turned to beli signs. "That's pure gold!"

"And of course you can tell just by looking at it," Usopp muttered.

"A Noble's family crest, uh? I wonder where Sabo-bro got that," Franky wondered aloud.

Robin looked thoughtful, but said nothing as the boys were lead to a private room. Shortly after, a serving girl entered with three large bowls of ramen.

"Here you are, sir, three orders of ramen," the waitress said shyly, keeping her eyes on the floor. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Please, eat and enjoy," she said as she backed out of the room, closing the door behind her.

The boys immediately threw off the cloak and each claimed a bowl for themselves.

"So, this is ramen!" Sabo exclaimed in excitement as he settled in his seat and looked into the bowl.

"It looks tasty!" Luffy cried, drooling.

Ace smiled. "Well, try to eat some."

They didn't need to be told twice before they were practically inhaling the ramen.

"Delicious!" Luffy shouted happily.

Sabo grinning. "You're right, this is delicious!"

The boys finished the bowls within minutes, something that didn't surprise the crew in the slightest.

"I think I feel really sorry for the restaurant staff," Usopp said.

"It's what shitty bastards deserve for refusing people food," Sanji muttered.

"I want more!" Luffy inevitably shouted, causing Ace and Sabo to jump up and clap their hands over his mouth.

"Shhhhhhhhh!" they hissed.

Sabo pulled away from Luffy and cleared his throat. "I would like another serving. Three orders of ramen!" he said, voice filled with the same authority it held earlier when he had demanded the room.

The order was filled, but the boys polished it off just as quickly as the last one, so they ordered another. And another. And another.

"This is completely ridiculous!" Nami exclaimed, watching as all three boys ate bowl after bowl after bowl.

"I know Luffy eats this much, but Sabo and Ace are keeping up with him no problem," Sanji with the kind of fascinated disbelief that came hand in hand with being the chef to one Monkey D. Luffy.

"Ya know," Usopp said, "Sooner or later, someone is going to get curious."

Right on cue, the door opened and revealed the waitress and the owner.

"Sir, can you please explain…" the owner trailed off when he saw the three boys siting around the table without the cloak.

"Crap! He found out!" Ace exclaimed.

"Run!" Sabo yelled.

The trio made a break for the window and crashed through the glass, using he flags and banners on the side of the building to get to the ground.

"Stop them!" the owner shouted from the window, "Bill jumpers! Thieves! Someone grab them!"

Zoro and Franky burst out laughing.

"Way to go, Luffy-bro!" the cyborg exclaimed between breaths.

"Dine and dash seems like it would be Luffy's number one crime," Usopp commented, completely unsurprised.

"It's those kids again!" yelled an officer as they ran by, "Someone catch those brats!"

"It seems that Luffy-san is very popular," Brook said.

"And it looks like this isn't his first time in town," Franky added.

Nami groaned, rubbing her temples. "I don't know why I expected anything different."

Zoro snorted. "Me neither."

When the trio passed a man dressed in a fancy suit, the man stopped, eyes going wide.

"Sabo?!" he cried in shock, "Sabo is that you?!"

Sabo stopped and the color drained from his face as he looked back to the man.

"You're still alive!" the man exclaimed, "Please, come home!"

The Straw Hats paused examining the man as he pleaded with the blond boy.

"Who is he?" Chopper asked curiously.

The others shrugged.

"Sabo that man's calling you," Ace said, now looking back as well.

"Who is he?" Luffy asked.

Sabo grimaced, face still paler than normal. "He must have me confused with someone else. Come on, let's go!"

Sabo took off. Ace and Luffy exchanged a brief look before running off after him.

"Please, wait!" the man shouted.

"Why do I get the feeling that something important just happened?" Usopp asked thoughtfully, head cocked to the side.

The crew exchanged looks.

"Perhaps it is," Robin said, "He did seem to know Sabo. And Sabo seemed to know him."

"Guess we'll find out if it's important," Zoro said with a shrug.

* * *

"What's wrong? I'm not hiding anything!" Sabo exclaimed even as he shifted nervously and didn't make eye contact with either of the other boys.

Luffy blinked up at him innocently. "Really?"

The Straw Hats sighed. Their captain was so gullible.

Ace rolled his eyes. "Of course he is," he said before turning to glare at the blond, "It's obvious you're hiding something! Do you think it's okay to keep secrets between us?"

Luffy's eyes widened slightly before he stood by Ace and declared in unison with him, "Spit it out, Sabo!"

Sabo's eyes shifted between the two of them before turning away. "I already told you, I'm not hiding anything."

"He might be better at lying than Luffy, but he still sucks at it," Sanji said.

Nami snorted. "Even Usopp tells better lies than that."

"Yeah – Hey! What do you mean 'even Usopp'?!"

"He is only ten," Brook observed.

Zoro crossed his arms. "I would think he would be better at this given his life style."

"What's that mean?" Chopper asked.

"It means that Sabo has lived as a thief in the wilderness," Robin explained, "One would think to survive such a life, the ability to lie would be necessary."

"It is," Nami said, and for a moment there were shadows on her face, but they cleared quickly and she exclaimed, "I was a better liar at that age!"

The crew gave her deadpan looks.

"Wah! Nami-swan is so passionate~!"

"Shut it, Love-Cook."

"What was that, shitty swordsman?"

Little Luffy and Ace both grabbed Sabo by his collar and shook him.

"Talk, damnit, or I'll make you talk!" Ace yelled.

"L-lemme go!" Sabo choked out as he shoved their hands away. "Alright! Alright!"

Ace and Luffy backed off and Sabo leaned back against the tree behind him. He looked between the two dark haired boys before turning his gaze to the ground.

"I'm…I'm the son of a noble," the blond muttered.

Ace's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open slightly in surprise.

"Ehhhhhhh?!" Luffy exclaimed, "You're the son of a Noble?!"

Sabo flinched violently, shoulders hiking up as if to fend off a blow.

"Hmmm, that explains the crest he had," Robin commented, as the rest of the crew watched with wide eyes.

Ace and Luffy blinked before saying in unison, "So?"

"You're the ones who're asking!" Sabo yelled, annoyed.

The crew sighed, completely understanding Sabo's position. The only thing that was throwing them off – the ones that knew him at least – was the fact that Ace was right there next to Luffy. It was odd seeing Ace be anything but polite. It was odd seeing Ace act like _Luffy_.

"The number of similarities between them is starting to freak me out," Nami muttered as Usopp nodded next to her.

Sabo sighed, sliding down the tree until he was sitting on the ground. "The truth is," he said softly, eyes locked on the ground, "My parents are still alive. I'm not an orphan; I didn't grow up in Gray Terminal. The man we met today…he's my father."

Ace's eyes went wide while Luffy's face remained openly curious.

Sabo glance up at them. "I'm sorry for lying to you," he said sincerely.

Luffy crossed his arms and gave Sabo a small grin. "Well you apologized, so I forgive you."

Zoro sighed. "He's so simple."

Anyone outside of the crew would have completely missed the amount of fondness in that one, simple statement.

"To be honest, I'm surprised," Ace said as he turned and walked a couple steps away from them, "Why would you do all of this if you're a Noble's son?"

Sabo grit his teeth. "I had to run away from home!"

Surprise coated the other two's faces as they turned back to face Sabo, shadows creeping into the blond's eyes and his hands started shaking.

"They only care about money and social status," Sabo said, tipping his head forward so that his hat shaded his eyes, "…not me."

"To have alienated your own child at such a young age…" Brook murmured, tightly gripping his cane.

"They must be some pretty greedy shits," Sanji agreed.

"If I don't marry a girl from the royal family," Sabo continued, "I'll be crap. I had to study everyday…just for _that_. I was always arguing with my parents because of my poor results in school. For that family, I was nothing more than a nuisance." The blond paused, attempting to get his trembling under control, before turning to look up at Ace and Luffy. "Sorry if I offend you, but even though I had parents…I always felt lonely!"

Usopp, Brook, and Chopper were in tears at this point, Franky close behind them. Nami was biting her lip and trying to ignore how full her eyes felt. Zoro, Sanji, and Robin watched the scene with a knowing kind of sadness.

"The people of Gray Terminal were not like the Nobles," Sabo said, crossing his arms, "But for me, it was better than live for decades with the Nobles."

Luffy just stared, surprised by Sabo's little speech. Ace still looked impassive.

"Now I understand," he murmured.

"Ace! Luffy!" Sabo exclaimed, suddenly jumping up and pointing out to sea wearing a wide grin on his face, surprising the other boys and startling the crew out of their gloomy thoughts, "We'll definitely set sail and leave this place! I wanna know all about the world and write a book about my adventures! I don't mind having to study navigation. I'll get stronger and I'll become a pirate!"

Zoro crossed his arms over his chest, a wide smirk on his face. Robin chuckled and Nami and Usopp wore identical grins.

Ace and Luffy laughed brightly.

"I know," Ace replied, "You don't need to tell me. I'll be a pirate and I'll fight and fight and fight until I become the most famous! That will be proof that I lived!" He looked to the sky, a large grin lighting his face. "I don't care if the world doesn't accept me, no matter how much they hate me, I'll become a great pirate and stand above everyone else! I won't run from anyone, or lose to anyone! I'll make sure the world knows my name!"

And even though Ace seemed so pleased with his dream, it made some of the Straw Hats frown. His wording was off and hinted at things that they did not want to think about; like how Ace seemed to question his right to life, his very right to _exist_.

Luffy giggled. "I see…Right!" he said, running forward to the edge of the cliff to stand by Ace. He raised his fists in the air, took a deep breath and shouted, "I'M GOING TO BE PIRATE KING!"

Ace and Sabo's jaws dropped and the Straw Hats couldn't help but laugh at the expressions on their faces, Luffy's joyful laughter mingling with theirs.

"You're talking nonsense," Ace sighed in disbelief, scratching his head.

Sabo, on the other hand, started laughing. "You're so funny, Luffy! I can't wait to see what happens in the future with you!"

And there was a gleam in the blond's eyes that the crew had become very familiar with after being on Luffy's crew. It was anticipation, excitement, fear, awe, and an odd sort of half-faith all rolled into one. It was that strange look that Luffy always inspired in people. That look that said maybe, just maybe, the completely impossible things that came out of the rubber man's mouth just might be the truth, might be real. It was the look people got when they started to hope and believe again. The look they got when they realized that impossible was just a label, a word, that the world used to try and measure reality. The look they got when they understood that nothing is set in stone, nothing is determined by chance unless you _let it be_. It was the look that people got when the realized that Luffy – that strange, innocent, bottomless pit of an idiot – might actually be able to do it. To make the impossible possible.

A sudden thoughtful look crossed Sabo's face. "Wait, it's okay that we all want to be pirates…but it is okay that we all want to be captain?"

Ace blinked. ""I didn't think about it," Ace admitted, "Sabo, I had planned that you'd be my navigator."

Luffy grinned and put his hands on his hips. "You'll be on my ship!" he announced, looking pleased with himself.

Sabo and Ace turned to Luffy. "I refuse!" they shouted in unison.

"Ehhh?!" Luffy exclaimed, "Come on, do it! Join my crew!"

"That will never happen!"

"Yeah, I think the same."

"Guess that was one refusal, Luffy couldn't refuse," Sanji said.

The others chuckled.

"What?!" Luffy paused and then tried to look disinterested, failing miserably, "I don't care."

"Pfft!" Ace laughed, "What was that?"

Sabo laughed as well. "You're definitely a funny guy, Luffy!"

And that was all it took for the three boys to collapse into a fit of giggles.

* * *

The scene changed and the trio of boys was now crowded around a tree trunk.

"What're they doing now?" Usopp wondered.

"Those are sake glasses," Zoro observed, nodding towards the three red cups that rested on the tree trunk.

"We'll decide future things in the future," Ace said, walking up to the trunk with a bottle in his hand, "Maybe we'll end up on three different ships."

Luffy blinked. "Did you steal Dadan's liquor?"

Ace shot Luffy a mischievous grin before turning to open the bottle. "Did you know? When men drink together, they become brothers," he said, pouring some of the sake into each cup.

"Brothers? Really?" Luffy asked, a wide, beaming grin on his face, Sabo grinning just as widely next to him.

"We might not be pirates on the same ship, but we'll be united by our bond of brotherhood," Ace said, his own smile sincere with a level of tenderness in it that the members of the crew that knew him associated with his older counterpart. "No matter what we do or where we are, no one will ever break that bond!" he exclaimed, taking up a cup.

The other two copied him, each taking a cup of their own.

"From now on," Ace said, "We're brothers!"

The trio clinked their glasses together, Luffy and Sabo affirming Ace's words.

"T-that was s-so beautiful!" Chopper cried.

"Those little bros have such a deep bond!" Franky sobbed.

Brook cried along with them. "Their bond will keep them united."

"S-such an amazing moment!" Usopp exclaimed, tears running down his face.

Nami sweatdropped. "We get it, you guys can calm down now."

The four ignored her.

"That explains Ace and Luffy's different parents though," Sanji said.

Zoro snorted. "It's not like blood makes family anyway."

Robin smiled softly. "That it very true," she said, "And sometimes a chosen family can be closer than those who claim the same blood."

The crew grinned at each other because they knew it was true. After all, they were living proof.

* * *

Dogra shook Luffy awake and the rubber boy sat up from where he and Ace had collapsed in a tangled heap. Sabo was sitting off to the side with a book in one hand and a pen in the other.

"Mm? Dogra?" Luffy asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with a yawn, "Why'd ya wake me up so early?"

Dogra sighed. "It's already past midday, Luffy."

Luffy blinked. "Oh."

Nami sighed. "Only you, Luffy."

"Anyway," Dogra continued, turning away to leave, "You have some visitors out front."

Luffy's head cocked to the side. "Visitors?"

"Who would be visiting you, Luffy?" Sabo asked.

"Why would anyone bother?" Ace grumbled, hauling himself up.

Luffy pouted. "Meanie, Ace!"

"Whatever," Ace yawned, "Did I fall asleep again?"

"Yup!" Sabo chirped with a grin, "But at least this time it wasn't in your food."

Ace chucked his pillow at the blond. "Shut up!"

Luffy ignored them and walked to the door. When the Straw Hats saw who was waiting for Luffy outside, they all wore grins that rivaled their captains.

"Makino!" Luffy cried, running forward to embrace the young woman.

"She came to see him," Chopper said with a delighted laugh.

"A lovely lady~! Mellorine~! Mellorine~!" Sanji sang while twirling.

"She is a truly lovely lady," Brook said, "I wonder if she would let me see her panties?"

Nami smacked the skeleton upside the head. "You aren't even going to ask!"

Makino laughed and wrapped her arms around Luffy in return. "Luffy!"

"You look great!" the Mayor Wood Slap said from his place next to Makino, "It's been six months so we came to see how you were doing."

Luffy grinned at the older man. "Hey, Mayor!"

"Don't tell Garp-san," Makino said with a wink, putting a finger to her lips. Luffy giggled and put a finger over his lips as well.

"So you're really living with bandits," Wood Slap observed, a look of disbelief on his face.

"At least someone thinks it's crazy," Nami deadpanned.

"You got a problem?" Dadan growled.

"Yes! A big one! You're a bandit, don't give me attitude!"

That caused some of the Straw Hats to snicker.

"What'd you say?! People from Fushia Village are really annoying!"

While the Mayor and Dadan continued to argue, Makino clapped her hands together with a wide grin, catching Luffy's attention. "I have some presents for you!" she said, walking over to her basket as Luffy bounced after her in excitement, "I assume Garp-san wouldn't think about these things…Ta-da!" she said holding up a t-shirt, "Here it is! New clothes!"

Chopper tilted his head to the side. "Clothes?"

"Well, she is right," Usopp said, "I don't think Garp thought about any of those kinds of things; Luffy didn't have anything but the clothes on his back when he got here."

"True," Nami commented, "But since when has Luffy ever gotten excited over clothes?"

"Wow, great!" Little Luffy exclaimed wit sparkles in his eyes.

Zoro snorted. "You stand corrected."

Nami facepalmed.

Makino giggled. "I'm glad you like them! I'll adjust the length so…I'll need you guys too," she said looking past Luffy.

The Straw Hats turned to find Ace and Sabo standing in the doorway of the hut, curious and surprised expressions on their faces.

"Okay?" Makino asked.

Slowly, Sabo started to smile while Ace stubbornly turned away, arms crossed over his chest. Sabo ran out to them while Ace stayed behind, something hesitant lingering in his eyes.

"You too," Makino called with an encouraging smile on her face.

Reluctantly, Ace walked over to them, hands tucked into his pockets and cheeks dusted pink.

Makino adjusted the clothes to each boy's size. When she got to Ace, she held the shirt up to his bare torso.

"I heard that Ace-kun was mischievous," she said, grinning, "But you seem like a good boy."

Ace blushed and looked away. "N-no, I'm not…"

"Awwww!" Nami cooed, "Look at him! He's blushing!"

"Of course he would be," Sanji said, "Makino-san is a beautiful lady!"

Sabo and Luffy were snickering a short distance away.

"He's so shy!" Sabo giggled.

"You're blushing, Ace!" Luffy teased.

"Perhaps Ace has developed a crush?" Robin mussed with a small, amused smile.

"You jerks!" Ace yelled.

"Oh hey," Makino said, "You can't move!"

Ace calmed, though the blush still painted his cheeks. "I'll get you guys later," he muttered.

Sabo and Luffy just collapsed into a fit of giggles, the Straw Hat crew joining them.

Later, Makino cooked the trio and the bandits dinner.

"I hope you like it!" she said.

And with that, everyone tucked in. It was much tamer than the bandits usual mealtimes; most likely because of the presence of Makino and the Mayor.

"Meals should be good on the ship," Sabo said between bites, "I'm gonna get the best cook first thing when I go out to sea!"

"I'm gonna become a pirate before you do so just forget it," Ace said smugly.

"That's not fair!" Luffy exclaimed, "I'm going to become a pirate first!"

Suddenly the bandits started freaking out, causing the trio to blink at them in confusion. The sound of a throat clearing behind them made Ace and Luffy pale and slowly, the pair of them turned to see Garp standing in the doorway.

"Ahhhhhh! It's the crazy marine grandpa!" Usopp yelled.

"You're still spouting crap like that?!" Garp growled, "Can't you both understand that you must become marine soldiers?!"

The old man promptly hit both boys over the back of the head, knocking them to the ground.

"This guy sets his expectations way to high," Franky said.

"How the heck did he come to the conclusion that a bunch of law-breaking bandits was the perfect place to raise them to be marines," Zoro wondered.

"If he wants them to be marines so bad, he probably should have taken them to a base or something," Nami deadpanned.

"Squirt," Garp said turning to Sabo, "you mentioned something about going out to sea too…"

"He's not squirt!" Luffy exclaimed, suddenly standing front of Sabo, "He's Sabo! We exchanged cups of sake and pledged to become pirates!"

The crew face faulted.

"He has such a big mouth," Ace grumbled from his place on the floor.

"Yes," the Straw Hats said, "Yes, he does."

"Oh?" Garp said, cracking his knuckles, "That means there are three brats who want me to give them a workout!"

The trio of brothers blinked and started sweating.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me! This is insane!" Usopp exclaimed, face extremely pale.

"Tch. And I thought Luffy was kidding at Water 7," Sanji muttered.

"L-Luffy's grandpa is s-scary," Chopper said, clinging to Robin's leg.

The three boys huddled together in their room covered in cuts and bruises after Garp's "training".

"If nothing is done, that old man will kill us tomorrow," Ace hissed.

"Even if we survive, he'll keep at it until we give up our dream," Sabo muttered.

"I don't want to die!" Luffy exclaimed.

Ace grinned. "It's time to make up our minds, brothers!"

"Mm? What is Ace-san planning?" Brook asked, head tilted to the side curiously.

"Don't know, Skeleton-bro, but that is a plotting face if I ever saw one," Franky said, arms crossed.

* * *

Franky whistled. "Little bros are pretty good builders," he said as the brothers hung a flag in the crow's nest they had built at the top of the tree. It was a pirate flag: a simple crossbones with the letters ASL printed over it.

"Wooooow! Tree fortress!" Chopper exclaimed, eyes shining.

The three boys looked just as impressed with their handy work.

"Awesome!" Luffy said, "It looks just like your design, Sabo!"

Sabo grinned. "Great work if I may say so myself." Then he noticed Ace's thoughtful look. "What's wrong, Ace?"

"This is a hideout," he replied after a moment, "so we gotta set up some traps."

Sabo grinned. "Alright, I'll think about it!"

"Seriously? Traps?" Nami questioned, not even shocked by this turn of events.

* * *

"Where are we now?" Zoro asked.

"It appears that we have returned to the city," Robin replied, as the crew watched Luffy bounce down a back street, Sabo trailing behind him with an amused expression on his face.

"That was soooo cool!" Luffy was saying, "Ace would have loved it! Where is he, anyway?"

Sabo shrugged. "Dunno, he said he would meet us in town later."

Luffy shrugged. "Oh well!"

Before the Straw Hats could try and figure out what was happening, they heard a loud laugh from the alley short distance away. Sabo and Luffy started to move towards it curiously until the laughter stopped and a mocking voice spoke up.

"If Gold Roger had a son?" the voice asked, making the crew freeze, eyes going wide, "Why the heck should a monster like that exist?"

The crew flinched and could do nothing but watch as Luffy's face took on that carefully blank expression that even Zoro had trouble reading sometimes. Sabo, on the other hand, had gone very, very pale.

"And if he did exist?" another voice asked, this one familiar.

"That's Ace!" Luffy exclaimed.

Sabo grabbed his wrist as he ran forward, halting him in his tracks. "Wait, Luffy," he said, "We should really let Ace handle this on his own…"

"But –"

"He should be killed!" came yet another voice.

"He should have been killed in the womb. Him and his whore mother," the first voice agreed.

"Or a public execution, just like his old man!" came a different voice, "And just before he dies he should bow his head and apologize for being born!"

"You should stab a needle in him for every person Roger pissed off. That would be justice."

The Straw Hats were frozen in horror. And their horror only grew when they heard Ace's answer.

"You're right," said the boy, "The Pirate King's son doesn't deserve to live…but neither do you!"

Suddenly there was a heavy thud, followed by screaming and cursing. Luffy wrenched himself free of Sabo's grip and ran the short distance to the alleyway. But the fight was already over.

Ace was standing over the beaten and broken bodies of four grown men, the expression on his face dark and dangerous. It was the expression wore when Luffy had first met him. It was the expression Ace had worn as the Straw Hats watched him try to get rid of Luffy again and again all those months before. It was a look of pure, unadulterated hatred. It was a look no child should be wearing.

But after hearing what they had, the crew couldn't really blame Ace. Because, even if they hadn't known it, those men had been talking about him. Telling him, a boy who had yet to even reach his teens, that he had no right to live. And the Straw Hats knew that, in the end, his blood is what got him killed. The whole world knew. Portgas D. Ace had not been placed up on that high execution platform in the center of Marineford two years ago to die for being a formidable pirate in his own right, no; Portgas D. Ace had been sentenced to death for _living_. He was sentenced to death because he was the son of a pirate; because he was the son of Gol D. Roger. And everyone knew it. The scary part though, was that most people _agreed with it_.

And what did that say about the state of the world?

Luffy sucked in a sharp breath.

Ace's head snapped up, eyes going wide, surprise and something that looked suspiciously like _fear_ flashed across his face.

"What the hell was that?" Luffy ground out just as Sabo rounded the corner behind him.

The tone made everyone – even the crew – freeze.

The pitch of his voice was still way too high, but Luffy's crew knew that tone. They heard that tone many times before; would know what that tone meant anywhere. It was the tone Luffy used when you had just done something he would never, _ever_ forgive you for. The Straw Hats had heard him use it against countless foes before beating them to a bloody pulp.

But, judging by the expressions on Ace and Sabo's faces, it was not something they were familiar with.

"What gives you the right to decide something like that?" Luffy continued.

Sabo stepped forward and tugged Luffy's shoulder. "Luffy –"

Luffy shrugged the blond off and glared at Ace. It was the glare that seemed to snap Ace out of his trance.

"The right?" he scoffed, "I don't need it; it's true."

Sabo frowned. "Ace…"

"Sabo knows," Zoro announced suddenly in the crew's tense silence, his single eye locked on the small boy.

"Indeed," Robin agreed, "But it would appear that Luffy does not."

"Somehow, I don't think knowing would change his feelings on the situation," Usopp muttered.

Sanji grimaced. "Shitty captain would still be pissed as hell," he said.

"And why do you get to decide that?" Luffy pressed, his glare never faltering.

"Because it's true!" Ace shouted furiously, eyes dark with anger.

And before anyone could register what happened, Luffy had closed the distance between them and punched the older boy across the jaw. Ace, completely caught off-guard, crashed to the ground.

Sabo's eyes widened in shock. It was the first time Luffy had managed to land an actual hit on either of them. And it wasn't a feeble little nudge either. No, Luffy a full out decked Ace. His cheek was red and he stared at the sky in surprise making no effort to get up.

"You don't get to decide that!" Luffy yelled, "You don't get to say who lives or dies! Neither to they!" The rubber boy gestured to the thugs on the ground. "No one does!"

And then the anger was back and Ace jumped up getting ready to charge Luffy until Sabo grabbed him and held him back.

"Ace! Ace, stop it!" Sabo called, trying to calm Ace down.

"Who are you to tell me what I can or can't think?!" Ace shouted, struggling to get out of Sabo's hold and failing, "I can think the Pirate King's son should die if I want!"

"THEN YOU'RE AN IDIOT!" Luffy exploded, "LIFE IS A RIGHT NOT A PRIVLAGE! IF THE PIRATE KING HAD A SON, ITHINK HE SHOULD LIVE AND IF I EVER MEET HIM I'M GOING TO TELL HIM THAT!"

Ace had frozen in Sabo's arms, gone completely still. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open. Sabo looked between them, not letting Ace go, but not knowing who he should try and talk down first.

Luffy acted before he could make an attempt.

"Stupid Ace," he muttered before turning on his heel and running off.

"That was…" Nami trailed off unable to find a word to describe what they had just witnessed.

"The shadow the Pirate King casts is a long one it seems," Robin said solemnly, "Even in death."

"So Ace actually believes…?" Usopp asked in disbelief.

"So it would seem, Usopp-san," Brook said softly.

"It explains why Ace seems to hate everything," Sanji muttered," And why he has no self-preservation?"

"Why preserve something that has no right to be there in the first place," Zoro said, his tone indifferent even though his hands were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white.

* * *

Luffy sat on the cliff that over looked the sea, the place the brothers had spoken their dreams.

"Luffy."

Sabo's voice came from behind him, but Luffy didn't turn to face him.

The blond sighed. "Luffy, it's been a whole day. Come home."

"No."

"Luffy-bro has been angry this entire time?" Franky asked in surprise. After all, they had seen Luffy angry over arguments before, but he couldn't hold a grudge to save his life. That they knew of at least.

"It appears that way," Robin answered.

Sabo came and sat next to the rubber boy, who kept his eyes stubbornly locked on the sea. "It's almost time for dinner."

"I'm not hungry," Luffy said stiffly.

The Straw Hat's jaws dropped.

"Luffy's not hungry! Someone call a doctor!" Chopper yelled frantically.

"It's odd to see him this serious at such a young age," Nami commented.

Sabo groaned. "Lu, how long are you going to stay mad?"

Luffy frowned. "Forever," he said stubbornly.

The blond ran a hand over his face. "Look, Luffy," he said softly, his tone making the younger boy blink and finally look at him, "Don't be too mad at him, okay? This is hard for him."

"I don't care," Luffy said bluntly, "He doesn't have the right to say what he did."

"I know," Sabo placated, "I don't agree with him, but it's something he's convinced of."

"Why? It's stupid. Why should someone die just for being born?"

"It's…complicated," the blond answered after a moment of silence. The crew could see the struggle in his eyes: he wanted to tell Luffy, make him understand, but at the same time he didn't want to betray Ace's trust.

Luffy pouted and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could a loud grumble came from his stomach.

Sabo chuckled. "Come on, Lu. Come back and have dinner."

"Fine," Luffy grumbled, "But I'm not talking to Ace!"

"Alright, alright!" Sabo said with a laugh.

* * *

The three boys sat at the base of the tree their home was in around a small fire. Luffy sat further away from the other two, his back facing the fire so that he could not see his brothers. The rubber boy drew his knees to his chest and frowned at the trees from his perch atop one of the tree's many large roots.

"Well this is awkward," Usopp said.

"No kidding," Zoro muttered.

Sabo completely ignored the tension and made no move to initiate any kind of discussion. He did, however, give Ace a rather pointed look. The boy rolled his eyes and scowled, but got up and started making his way towards Luffy. As soon as his back was to Sabo, his scowl vanished, replaced by an anxious expression.

"Hey, Luffy," he said as he climbed up behind the rubber boy.

Luffy's back tensed. "I'm not talking to you," he said immediately.

Ace shifted, actually looking nervous. "Did you mean it?" he asked, voice uncharacteristically soft, "What you said about Roger's son, did you mean it?"

"If I was talking to you, which I'm not," Luffy said, making his future crew roll their eyes despite the seriousness of the situation, "I'd tell you that I meant every word."

"But Roger is a demon!" Ace exclaimed.

"So?" Luffy asked, "I'm a monster too. And so was Shanks's captain. It doesn't mean anything."

"…I don't understand," Ace said, something broken and desperate in his voice, "Why don't you hate him? Or his child?"

"I have no reason to," Luffy replied simply, still not looking at Ace, "Why would I hate anyone just for living? That's stupid. Besides, I want to be Pirate King just like Roger was! It would be dumb to hate him for having the freedom I want."

"Unbelievable," Nami muttered, stuck somewhere between awe and disbelief, "Since when is he this insightful?"

"Roger's son has just as much right to live as anyone else and –"

"I don't!" Ace shouted over him, making Luffy turn to him with wide eyes, "I don't deserve to live! I don't and it's his fault! He didn't even stick around to protect me or the woman who died giving birth to me! He knew the world would hate me and he let me be born anyway! He's a bastard and he deserved to die!"

Ace was panting hard by the end of his outburst, shoulders shaking, fists clenched, his head turned toward the ground and eyes squeezed shut so that he didn't have to look at Luffy. The Straw Hats were too shocked by Ace's anger to say anything. And, for a long moment, Luffy was silent, doing nothing but staring blankly at Ace's trembling form.

"So you're Roger's son," Luffy murmured softly, thoughtfully, making Ace flinch, "Hey, Ace," and Luffy waited until Ace had looked at him even if it was just him peeking through his hair, before grinning widely, showing all of his teeth, "I think you should live!"

Ace's head snapped up at that, eyes wide in disbelief and a little hope. Luffy just continued to smile at him. Even when he started trembling, even when his eyes started filling with tears, even when a strangled sob escaped his throat. Even when he sank to the ground in front of the younger boy and tried to reign himself in. Luffy just smiled softly at him and Ace cannot find a lie in his eyes. And then Luffy was just _there, _arms wrapped around Ace and cradling his shaking form.

"Silly Ace," Luffy said, "Are you crying?"

"…Shut up," Ace choked out, but there was no bite in it as he leaned into Luffy's hold and tightly gripped the smaller boy's shirt.

"Shishishishishi!"

And when he looked up, Luffy saw Sabo smile at them from his place by the fire.

Most of the Straw Hats were in tears at this point; even Robin's normally calm expression had cracked some, tears gathering in her eyes. She could understand Ace's plight, better than any of her other crewmates.

"I believe this is the point at which Luffy 'won Ace over' so to speak," she said softly so as not to disrupt the moment.

"Yeah," Nami said softly, wiping her eyes.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Ace?" Sabo asked nervously.

Ace rolled his eyes. "It's fine, Sabo. Quit worrying so much."

"I don't know," Usopp said, looking at their surroundings warily, "I'm kinda with Sabo on this one."

The trio of brothers was back in the city, in a shadier part of town. They looked to be walking around the back alleyways, sticking to the shadows even though no one was around.

"This Sabo kid seems to be the brains of the operations," Sanji drawled.

"I've noticed that to," Chopper commented, "He's so much calmer than the other two."

"Still pretty wild though," Zoro added, "He's nicer to Luffy."

"Sabo-aniki breaks up their fights," Franky said.

"Someone has to," Nami muttered.

"Hey, Ace," Luffy called loudly from behind them.

Ace immediately dove on the smaller boy, slamming his hands on his mouth. "Shut up, you rubber idiot!"

"Hey! I heard something over there!"

"Shit! It's too late, we're caught!" Sabo exclaimed.

"Tch. Good going, moron," Ace growled, knocking Luffy over the head.

"Sorry," Luffy said, grinning and not sounding at all apologetic.

Ace just sighed. "Whatever, Plan B," he said.

Sabo nodded. "On it!"

The blond ran in one direction, while Ace took off in another. "Come on, Lu!" he called over his shoulder.

"What the heck are they doing?" Usopp asked.

"How the hell're we supposed to know?" asked Zoro with a scowl.

"With Luffy-san, it truly could be anything," Brook said.

Luffy followed Ace to an old ladder and they used it to climb to the roof of the building. They looked around briefly before hearing a shout from below.

"You guys are pathetic! My grandmother can run faster than you losers!"

Ace grinned. "And there's Sabo."

Luffy nodded. "Yup."

They looked at each other with identical grins that promised mayhem before sprinting over the rooftops in the direction of Sabo's voice.

"Did that look…make anyone else fear for their sanity?" Nami stuttered.

"S-scary!" Usopp and Chopper cried.

"Yohohohoho! They do seem to be having fun, whatever it is they're doing," Brook said.

The two boys reached the edge of the roof and peered over the edge. Sabo had been backed into a corner. Ace nodded to Luffy, who lay down on his stomach at the edge of the roof. Ace crouched down next to him, one hand wrapping around the rubber boy's ankle the other wrapped tightly around his metal pipe staff.

"Sabo," one of the thugs said, "Who gave you permission to enter our territory?"

Sabo smirked. "Your territory?" Sabo laughed, "Ha! You guys are so full of it! Stop talking nonsense and bring it on!"

The man in front sneered. "Fine!" he growled as he and the others started forward, "But we ain't goin' easy on ya cause ya're a kid!"

Ace jumped off the roof then, still holding on to Luffy's leg, which stretched out like a rope as Ace swung down to the group below.

"That's…actually pretty smart of them," Sanji said.

"Luffy might not be able to control his powers yet," Usopp commented, "But it looks like they can still use them."

Ace let go of Luffy's leg and slammed into the closest thug, smacking the next one with his pipe.

"Ace!" they cried out in shock.

"Pay attention!" Sabo called with a grin, easily taking out the guy closest to him.

Luffy meanwhile was launched off the building by the recoil from his leg snapping back in place.

"Then again," Usopp said, "Maybe not."

The rubber boy fell out of the sky and right on top of one of the thugs. He took only a moment to recover before he joined the fray, fighting alongside his brothers.

Franky whistled. "Luffy-bro and his anikis fight well together."

It was true; the trio was winning against a group a grown men. It wasn't anything new really; the crew had already seen numerous times how resourceful each of the boys were in their own rights. But this is the first time they had seen the three boys fight together. And despite the arguments and the rough start they had, the three worked well together.

Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot echoed through the alley, making everyone freeze. Luffy flew back and crumpled to the ground in a heap.

"LUFFY!" Sabo yelled in panic.

"But Luffy's bulletproof," Chopper said, confused at Sabo's reaction, "Isn't he?"

"He is," Nami nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah," Zoro grunted, crossing his arms, "But how exactly do you find something like that out?"

Ace had frozen, wide eyes on Luffy's fallen form.

"That's enough of that," a voice said.

The two boys turned and saw a man walk forward, the others stepping out of his way. He was tall, but thin. He didn't look like much of anything, but he wore a long coat and held a pistol in one hand, the weapon still smoking from the last shot.

Ace's face darkened and his grip on his pipe tightened to the point that his knuckles turned white under the pressure.

"You bastard –!"

The man pointed the gun at Ace and Sabo lurched forward to grab him before he could do anything stupid.

"Now, now," the man drawled, "Let's not do anything too hasty."

"Isn't shooting a child hasty?!" Usopp and Nami yelled.

Ace and Sabo glared at the man, who just grinned down at them mockingly.

"We can't really afford for you guys to keep messing around in our territory, see?" the man said, "So, as fun as it's been, this is the last time we'll see each other."

He cocked the gun and pulled the trigger before either boy could say anything in response. But the bullet never met it's intended target; because Luffy was suddenly _there_, standing in front of the two boys, arms thrown out and a glare on his face. The bullet hit him square in the chest, forcing him back a few steps. Then, as the Straw Hats had seen so many times before, the bullet was bounced back the way it came, carving a thin gash into the man's cheek.

"That could have hurt me!" Luffy yelled angrily into the dead silence.

"W-what is he?!" one of the thugs asked.

Little Luffy just turned to him stuck out his tongue. "I'm a monster, duh," he said bluntly.

_That_ caused everyone to snap out of their stupor. They began panicking and screaming things like 'demon' and 'monster' as the scrambled to get away. Ace, on the other hand, had gone straight for the man with the gun and began beating him to a bloody pulp while Sabo took out the others. Throughout the entire thing, Luffy just smiled.

"And _that,_" Ace said as he brought his pipe straight down on the man's head with a crack, "Is for shooting my little brother!"

The man collapsed in a heap and Luffy giggled.

Ace turned on him next. "And YOU!" he yelled, whacking Luffy over the head with his fist, "What the _hell _were you thinking?!"

"But Ace," Luffy whined, holding his head, "Bullets don't work on me!"

"And when the fuck did you figure that out?!"

"Five minutes ago," was the blunt answer.

Ace opened his mouth, no doubt to yell something else, when Sabo stepped between them holding his hands out in a placating manner.

"Hey, hey," he said, "It's fine right?"

"But Ace is being meeeeeean~!" Luffy whined.

"WHY YOU –"

"Nah, he was just worried about you," Sabo said matter-of-factly, "He thought you were hurt. Or dead."

The blond's expression changed slightly at that, small shadows forming behind his eyes and Ace flinched.

Luffy's eyes, on the other hand, had gone wide. "Ace was worried about me?"

Ace's cheeks flushed. "No!" he protested loudly, turning away as he began to walk out of the alley, "Who would worry about you?! You're just a whiny crybaby!"

Luffy blinked at Sabo, who grinned widely and winked at the rubber boy. "That's Ace talk for 'please don't ever scare me like that again'," he stage whispered.

"SHUT _UP_, SABO!"

Luffy and his crew laughed.

* * *

"That was amazing!" Luffy exclaimed with a giggle, "We made it through the storm!"

Sabo sighed. "Our base was wrecked though."

Ace shrugged. "It's not that big a deal," he said, "We just need to get some more wood and we can fix it."

Luffy ran in front of the other two as they walked and turned to face them, walking backwards. "I want a telescope!"

Ace rolled his eyes. "Dumbass, you think something like that's just going to fall out of the sky?"

"Knowing Luffy's luck?" Nami asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's entirely possible," Usopp and Chopper said in unison.

Sabo chuckled. "In that case, I'd rather find a cannon."

"If a cannon fell out of the sky, that'd be awesome!" Luffy exclaimed with a grin.

The three of them laughed, as they stepped into Gray Terminal and began rummaging through the mountains of garbage, looking for anything useable.

"It's no use, Ace," Luffy whined, "I can't find a telescope."

"Luffy," Ace groaned, "Why are you looking for a telescope? Go find some useable wood instead."

"He'll keep looking for a telescope," Sanji said.

"Yep," Usopp nodded.

"Keep looking," Chopper said.

"Yohohohoho! Luffy-san really wants that telescope!" Brook said.

"But Ace…" Luffy whined.

Ace sighed. "Whatever. Let's go find Sabo; maybe he found something."

The two wandered through the trash looking for their brother. After a few minutes, Ace suddenly grabbed Luffy and pulled him down, slapping a hand over the boy's mouth before he could make a sound. Luffy looked up at him in confusion and Ace quietly put a finger to his lips and then pointed up. The younger nodded and the two began to climb the trash heap.

"Ah? What're they doin' now?" Franky asked.

"Ace seems on edge," Zoro said, his eye narrowed.

When the two reached the top of the pile, they saw Sabo on the other side; he was surrounded by a bunch of thugs. One of them was decked out in a pirate captain's coat.

"Pirates?" Chopper asked.

"You don't think…?" Nami started slowly.

"Hey, don't hurt him now," the man in the coat said.

The others began to close in around Sabo and Ace began to look around. Nudging Luffy, he pointed to a nearby barrel.

Sabo kicked the guy who tried to grab him in the face. "You wanna fight, bastard?!"

The barrel slammed into the next guy that tried to grab Sabo from behind and Ace and Luffy appeared at Sabo's back, pipe staffs in hand.

"Ace! Luffy!" Sabo cried with a grin.

Ace smirked. "You alright, Sabo?" Sabo nodded. "If the three of us work together, then these guys aren't scary at all!"

"That's right!" Luffy cried throwing his hands in the air.

"You little brats!" cried one of the men.

"To finish the fight quickly," Ace said, "We just have to go for the captain!"

Sabo dropped the supplies he'd gathered and together, the three of them charged the pirates. They easily took out the men in front of them.

"Ya know," Usopp said, "The whole taking out scary-looking, grown men is not a thing that normal kids should be doing."

"Explains a lot about Luffy then, huh?" Zoro smirked.

Nami rolled her eyes. "Normal kids would not last this long or win this many fights with grown men," she deadpanned, "Luffy and his brothers are not normal."

"They're SUUUUUUPER!" Franky exclaimed striking a pose.

The man in the pirate coat took out a gun and fired right in front of Ace's feet. The boys immediately separated; Ace and Sabo going to the right, Luffy diving to the left.

"Alright, that's enough," the pirate said, "Stay where you are!"

"I'm not scared of a gun!" Ace stared before he and Sabo were both grabbed from behind. "Damnit, let go!"

Another was pinning Luffy to the ground. "Move!" the little rubber boy yelled, "Or I'll send you flying!"

"They got caught!"Usopp yelled.

Chopper shifted nervously. "They'll be fine, right?"

"Perhaps," Robin said quietly.

"Let me go, you bastards!" Sabo yelled, struggling to free himself.

Suddenly, the blond froze, eyes going wide and face paling. Ace did the same soon after when he saw what Sabo was looking at.

"Are those…soldiers?" Nami asked.

The crew narrowed their eyes and tensed.

"Something doesn't feel right about this," Sanji muttered.

A small troop of armed, uniformed men was marching towards them. They came to a stop in front of them and parted, letting a finely dressed man pass.

"That is the gentleman they met in town," Brook observed, gripping his cane nervously, "Sabo's father."

"Now I _really_ don't have a good feeling about this," Sanji said.

"Looks like we came at the right time," the Noble said.

Sabo shrank back slightly. "Father…" he whispered.

And that one word was filled with so much dread that it made the Straw Hats' hair stand on end.

Ace and Luffy's eyes widened and they gasped softly.

"Master," the lead pirate said, "He doesn't have a single scratch on him."

"Did he…just call him 'Master'?" Nami asked in disgust.

The crew's faces had all twisted into various forms of disbelief, anger, and disgust.

"It would appear that this group of pirates serves the Nobility," Robin said, her calm face marred with a displeased frown, "And since there is only one crew that remains on this island and never leaves, this must be Bluejam's crew."

"Which means the shitty asshole sucking up to those bastard Nobles must be Bluejam," Sanji sneered, "What a shitty name."

"What kind of pirate stays in one place to work like a dog for a Noble?" Brook asked, furious. These pirates were an absolute disgrace to the name.

"It's kinda like Kuro," Usopp said thoughtfully, "He gave up the sea and pirating for status and money. Or at least he tried to anyway."

"Kuro?" Chopper asked.

"Luffy hated that guy," Zoro said, "He never even considered him a pirate, just some second-rate dirtbag."

"I remember that," Nami said with a frown, "Maybe this was why Luffy hated him this much? Because he reminded him of Bluejam?"

"Don't know," Zoro shrugged, "But at least Kuro was going to be in charge. This is just…" the swordsman trailed off with a grimace.

"These guys are soooo not super," Franky said, crossing his arms, "Why the hell would they lower themselves to servants."

"Probably money," Nami said, "But I don't know how money can be worth working for someone like _that_," she spat.

The rest nodded their agreement.

"Hey!" Bluejam called.

The pirate holding Sabo started to walk forward and Sabo renewed his struggles.

"Let go!"

"Sabo!" Ace called.

"I see," the Noble said, "It must be because of these two? They led Sabo down a path of evil?"

"A path of _what?!" _several of the crew yelled in outrage.

"That asshole!" Nami seethed.

"Give Sabo back!" Luffy yelled from his place on the ground.

The Noble sneered. "What do you mean 'give him back'? Sabo is _my_ child!"

"Children are not property," Brook growled.

"It is the responsibility of every child to live according to the will of the parents who gave him life," the Noble continued, "You have some nerve, lying to Sabo and convincing him to run away from home!"

"No wonder Sabo ran away," Sanji muttered, "He's so fuckin' pretentious I think I might hurl."

"I'd run away too," Chopper said with a frown.

"This guy is nuts!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Just a measly pair of kids like you! Are you trying to steal my fortune?" the Noble asked.

"What was that, you bastard?! Ace yelled furiously.

"Seriously, what the hell is up with this guy?" Franky asked.

"This is the mindset of the nobility," Robin answered indifferently, the slight frown on her face the only outward sign on her anger.

The pirate holding Ace grabbed the back of his neck and slammed his face down into the ground. Blood spattered, some of it catching the Noble in the face.

"Hey now, pirate!" he said, taking out a handkerchief and wiping his cheek, "Be careful how you handle these children! You got some of that inferior filth's blood on my face!"

The Straw Hats were shaking with rage at this point. They had hands on weapons and were unconsciously in battle stances. If the crew _ever_ met this man in person, it was becoming highly likely that he would not live to tell about it.

"Ace!" Luffy called out in worry.

Sabo finally slipped out of his captor's hold. "Please, stop!" he said, "Nobody deceived me! It was my choice to leave home!"

"Just be quiet!" his father shouted, "Hey."

Two of the soldiers stepped forward and took hold of Sabo's shoulders.

"I trust that you pirates will take care of the others," the Noble said.

"Of course we will, Master," Bluejam said, "We've received payment after all. Rest assured, I'll finish these two off so that they will never bother your child again."

Sabo's eyes went wide. "Wait a second, Bluejam!" he called before turning to his father, desperation leaking into his voice, "Father, it's alright! I understand!"

"What do you understand?" he asked.

Sabo pressed his lips together as he struggled with the words.

"Don't do it, Sabo!" Ace yelled, eyes wide with realization.

"I'll…I'll do whatever you ask of me," Sabo forced out, "I'll live just like you tell me to, so…don't hurt these two. That's all I ask. Please. They're my irreplaceable brothers."

Luffy's eyes widened.

"Sabo…" Ace whispered.

"In that case," the Noble said, "Come back home, now! Stop with this ridiculous pirate game right now!"

Sabo swallowed harshly and clenched his fists at his sides.

"He isn't…" Nami whispered in denial.

Sabo turned and began to walk away, eyes shaded by his hat.

"He is," Brook said.

"Sabo-aniki is going to sacrifice himself for his brothers," Franky murmured.

"Sabo! Don't walk away!" Ace yelled.

The pirate above him slammed him back down. "Be quiet!"

"Sabo, just run!" Ace screamed anyway, something desperate beginning to creep into his voice. "We'll be fine! We were going to our freedom together, remember!?"

"Sabo, don't go!" Luffy begged, looking for all the world like someone was cutting his heart out.

"Are you going to let it end like this!?" Ace yelled, anger starting to take over.

Sabo still didn't answer.

"Sabo!" Ace yelled.

Sabo began to cry, tears streaming down his face, but he still refused to face his brothers. He just let the soldiers and his father begin to herd him away.

"Sabo!" Luffy screamed, struggling to free himself.

The crew shuddered. They knew that tone. They had only heard it once before, only once. At Sabaody as they had each been ripped away from him one by one.

As Sabo was led away something fell out of his coat. The crew leaned over to see it.

"It's…a telescope," Chopper said softly.

"He must have found it for Luffy," Usopp whispered.

Before anyone else could notice it, though, one of the soldiers stepped on it, crushing it under his foot.

"Sabo!" Ace cried in one last, desperate scream.

Sabo never turned back as he was led into the city.

"If we ever meet that guy, I'm slicing him up," Zoro growled, hands on his swords.

"Not if I kick him first," Sanji snarled.

"You don't think…that Sabo is still there, do you?" Chopper asked timidly, shaken by what he had just seen.

"I don't know Chopper," Robin answered softly.

* * *

"Where are we now?" Usopp asked.

"Where ever we are, it's a complete dump," Nami said with a grimace as she looked around.

"Perhaps we are still in Gray Terminal?" Robin offered.

"Those nobles have it made, huh?" Bluejam said, taking a swig of liquor from the bottle he was holding. Ace and Luffy were tied up on the floor, glaring up at the pirate. "You have to be born of noble blood to be an aristocrat. They're born under the star of good fortune! I'd switch places with him if I could. I wish I'd been born an aristocrat."

Sanji scowled. "Is this guy serious?"

"You kids think so too, right?" Bluejam continued, "They look down on all of us and think we're trash, while they live their proud, carefree lives. Wouldn't you say he's better off living as a noble?"

"What the hell are you trying to say?" Ace glared.

"Pirates are better!" Luffy yelled, "Sabo says so too!"

Bluejam gave the boy a look of amused pity. "I feel sorry for you two," he said, "Untie them."

One of the pirates stepped forward and released the boys. Ace immediately put himself between Luffy and Bluejam, his dark glare never once faltering. Luffy, of course, refused to be sheltered and stepped up next to Ace, though he hovered close.

"Why do you think a child of a noble would leave High Town and go to Gray Terminal?" Bluejam asked. "All nobles are the same, whether they be kids or adults. There's no doubt he thought we were all fools. In his heart of hearts, he probably despises you two."

"Don't be stupid!" Ace yelled, clearly enraged, "Sabo isn't like that!"

"Yeah!" Luffy shouted, "He's our brother!"

Bluejam chuckled. "Sorry to break this to you, but you two will never see your 'brother' again. If you're planning on trying, I've got no choice but to kill you right now. If you think he's your brother, then it's better for him too if you left him alone."

Ace seemed to be surprised by this, but Luffy wasn't convinced. "Sabo _hates_ High Town!" he yelled, angry at anyone for suggesting otherwise.

"Luffy-san is very upset," Brook pointed out.

"Tch, wouldn't you be?" Zoro asked.

Brook nodded in agreement. "I would indeed," the skeleton said, "But I would expect Ace-san to be more upset."

"Ace does seem to have a bigger temper," Nami said thoughtfully.

"True," Brook agreed, "But Ace-san has known Sabo-san longer. Yet it is Luffy-san who seems more convinced of what Sabo has told them."

The Straw Hats blinked at that.

"That's true," Robin murmured, observing the scene before them, "Ace appears to be considering Bluejam's words."

"Wait, you're saying that he would believe this creep over his own brother?" Usopp asked in disbelief.

Robin didn't say anything, but her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Maybe Ace-aniki just isn't sure what to think," Franky offered.

"Just forget all about that," Bluejam dismissed, with a casual wave of his hand. "He's better off this way. You'll understand when you're grown up." He paused for a moment. "We've had our differences in the past, what with that Porchemy's incident, but what's past is past. Or rather, I like strong guys like you. So, I've got a suggestion for you. It's not a half bad deal."

"A deal?" Chopper asked, confused.

Ace and Luffy looked equally confused.

"I'm short on men. Will you help me with a job?" Bluejam asked with a grin as the boys blinked up at him in surprise, "Oh, it's a simple job. There's nothing dangerous about it. I got a map of Gray Terminal here. You've got to carry some goods to the spot marked with an X. That's all. Are you up for it?"

"Is he serious?" Usopp asked, "After everything that's happened, he wants them to work with them?"

"Because that isn't creepy and suspicious," Nami deadpanned.

"What would they be carrying?" Chopper asked, "Treasure?"

"Maybe weapons," Franky said.

"It could be drugs," Robin offered, "Or some other kind of substance."

"Perhaps it is panties?" Brook asked.

"This is serious!" Nami yelled, whacking him over the head.

Luffy scowled and opened his mouth, no doubt to yell no in Bluejam's face, but Ace beat him to it.

"Alright," Ace said calmly, "How much will you pay us?"

"He's agreeing?!" Nami, Usopp, and Chopper screeched in unison.

"My, my, this is a turn of events," Robin mused.

"And knowing Luffy, it's probably going to go badly," Sanji said.

* * *

The boys were carrying small crates through the Terminal, Bleujam's pirates with them carrying crates as well. Ace and Luffy stuck close. Luffy was clearly unhappy, a small frown etched onto his normally smiling face. Ace paid him no mind though, eyeing the men around them suspiciously as they did their work.

"Ace," Luffy whined softly, "I don't like it when Sabo's not around."

Ace's eyes flicked briefly to the rubber boy before facing forward again. "Deal with it," he said harshly before softening slightly and sighing, "I want to go get Sabo too. I don't know what would really make Sabo happy."

"I don't really think Sabo is ever going to be happy in High Town," Nami muttered.

"Let's just see how things go," Ace continued, "He's strong; if he really hates it there, he'll come back to us. We've gotta keep collecting the Pirate Fund incase that happens."

"Well, he's not totally wrong," Usopp said, crossing his arms, "Sabo could just run away again."

"He could," Zoro agreed, "But he might not."

"Uh? Why wouldn't he, Zoro?" Chopper asked.

"The reason he left was to protect Ace and Luffy," Nami explained, "If he thinks that returning to them might put them in danger…" she trailed off with a shrug.

"Sabo-san will not return if he thinks it will put Ace-san and Luffy-san in danger," Brook said.

"So we're in a catch twenty-two," Sanji concluded, "Ace thinks that Sabo will come back if he hates High Town and Sabo thinks he can't go back because it will endanger Ace and Luffy."

Nami groaned and rubbed her temples. "So basically Sabo is just going to stay in High Town."

"Pretty much," Zoro said with a shrug.

Nami sighed. "Great."

* * *

It was night and the boys were back in their tree fort. Ace was curled into a ball under his sheets facing away from Luffy. But Luffy didn't look like he was even trying to sleep. There was a frown on his face and a sad gleam in his eyes as he stared at something nailed to the wall.

"Are those…?" Sanji started.

When the crew looked closer, they saw that the three red sake glasses the trio of boys had made their pledge of brotherhood with were hanging in a small net bag.

"I wonder…how Sabo's doing," Luffy said into the quiet night.

There was a certain tone to his voice that made the crew snap to attention. It wasn't a tone they heard often or one they ever confronted directly, but it was one they knew, just like they knew all the other moods of their captain when push came to shove. Luffy was hurting. Not the physical kind of hurt, but the emotional kind. His heart was hurting.

"Shut up," Ace said tonelessly from his spot, "Go to sleep. We promised we'd forget about Sabo for now. Maybe he's better off."

Luffy tore his eyes away from the cups to look at Ace. He stared at his older brother's back with a blank face for a long moment. He didn't say anything, didn't make a sound. Just stared quietly until his frown came back and he turned back to the cups.

"_From now on, we're brothers!"_

Ace's voice echoed in Luffy's head as he finally closed his eyes and turned on his side, curling up to sleep.

"I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this," Nami said quietly.

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Only _now_?"

Nami shrugged somewhat defensively. "It's just at this rate, Sabo will be stuck in High Town forever, Ace is in denial, and Luffy is starting to get depressed."

"Not to mention the fact that Bluejam and his crew work like dogs for the Nobles," Sanji added.

Usopp nodded. "And anything involving Nobles just has disaster written all over it."

"Tch. That's an understatement," Zoro muttered.

Luffy sighed softly. "Sabo…"

* * *

"You're going to burn Gray Terminal?!" Ace yelled, face white with horror and anger, "Why would you do that?!"

"Wait, they're going to do what?" Nami asked with wide eyes.

"Don't scream, you fool!" Bluejam hissed, "We can't let anyone know about this!"

"This is serious! We gotta tell everyone! He's a bad guy, just as I thought!" Luffy cried, glaring up at the pirate.

"I told you to pipe down! Hold them down," Bluejam ordered, "It wasn't my idea."

"Not his idea? Someone else told him to burn the Terminal?" Usopp asked, an edge of panic in his voice.

"So it would seem," Robin said thoughtfully, "And as we know that Bluejam has been employed by the Nobility in the past, it would not be unreasonable to assume that he is under they're instruction now."

"But why would the Nobles want to burn the Terminal? Chopper asked, "It's just a trash heap."

"Yes," Robin agreed, "But given the condition of the city in relation to the Terminal, there is a very obvious difference, even in Edge Town. Not to mention the people that live here."

"And remember when Luffy, Ace, and Sabo snuck in?" Zoro asked, "No one went near them."

"And these people here are at least ten times worse off than that," Nami added.

Robin nodded. "Which means that in all likely, the people of Goa do not see these people as anything more than the trash they live among."

"The oil and explosives you planted yesterday are going to be used to make a fire that'll exterminate all the people here," Bluejam continued, confirming the Straw Hat's fears and causing the boys' eyes to snap up to the pirates, horror reflected on their faces, "I guess you're just children after all. Getting upset like this."

"It has nothing to do with them being children," Brook said quietly, shaking with anger, "Any decent human being would be horrified by such a meaningless loss of life."

Franky grimaced. "Unfortunately, Skeleton-bro, Nobles aren't decent."

"Nor are most pirates," Nami added with distaste.

"No…" Luffy whispered.

"Are you out of your mind?" Ace hissed.

"Most likely," Sanji scowled.

Bluejam just chuckled at their reactions. "But now that you know about the plan, I can't let you go."

Ace and Luffy jerked in their captors' grips, tensing and watching the pirate captain warily as he stepped closer to them and leaned down to their eye level.

"I want to know something before the fire," he said, "Do you have some treasure hidden somewhere?" The boys twitched, but didn't answer. Bluejam grinned. "Care to tell me where?"

Neither boy said anything, just glaring silently at the man. Luffy was angry, but the look on Ace's face promised death.

Bluejam shrugged, only feeling slight disappointment. "Oh well," he sighed, "Fine, don't tell me. Tie them to the ship," he ordered, "They can burn with the rest of the garbage."

"WHAT?!" screeched the Straw Hats.

"That's insane!" Franky yelled.

"He would just leave two kids to die?!" Chopper shrieked in fury.

"It's not that surprising," Zoro growled, swords halfway drawn out of reflex as he watched his little captain and Ace being tied up, "But it doesn't make my desire to kill this bastard any less."

"That is something we can agree on," Sanji said, one of his legs bouncing nervously like he was ready to raise it for a kick at any second.

As soon as the boys were tied securely to a wooden pole, the pirates left. It was only minutes later that the explosions started throughout the Terminal. And, of course, the fire spread quickly. The crew could do nothing but watch nervously as their captain and his brother struggled furiously to escape their bonds. Smoke covered the already darkening sky, the flames making everything impossibly bright.

"At this rate, even their bones will be nothing but ash," Robin observed.

"NOT THE TIME!" Usopp yelled.

Behind them the pirate ship began to burn.

Ace was sawing furiously at their bonds with a broken piece of glass.

"It's hot!" Luffy cried, "It's hot!"

Just then the ropes snapped and Luffy crashed to ground face first.

"Yes!" Ace cried in triumph, though it was short lived, "Damn! We didn't want to be involved in this," he cursed.

"We can't get away!" Luffy cried, flailing in panic on the ground, "I don't wanna die!"

"I'll leave you behind if you don't stop complaining!" Ace yelled furiously.

"Seriously, Ace?" Nami asked, "He couldn't have been a little more gentle."

Zoro snorted. "It's not really a situation for gentle, Nami."

"Besides," Usopp said, "Ace isn't really a gentle person."

To the crew's surprise, Luffy clammed up immediately. "It's not hot," he said.

"Come on, idiot!" Ace said, grabbing Luffy's wrist and hauling him up.

The two boys grabbed their discarded pipe staffs and made a run for it.

"Whoa, it's hot!" Luffy complained as he followed Ace, before blinking and changing his mind, "No it's not."

The crew sighed.

"Leave it to Luffy-bro," Franky said.

"He seems to be focusing more on not panicking," Brook said thoughtfully.

"I can't breathe," Luffy coughed, "Yes, I can! The air is hot. No, it's not!"

Ace briefly glanced over his shoulder at Luffy. "It's gonna be alright," Ace said in a firm, unusually gentle voice, "I'm here with you."

"I wonder if those old men escaped safely," Luffy muttered as they ran.

"This is no time to be concerned about others, Luffy!" Ace shouted as he dove out of the way some falling debris.

"But Luffy is always worried about others," Usopp said.

"I do not think Luffy-san knows how to _not_ be concerned about others," Brook said, his skeletal face somehow smiling.

Ace suddenly started coughing. "Damnit," he whispered hoarsely, "I don't even know where I am."

"This is bad," Chopper murmured worriedly, "They're breathing in too much smoke."

"Who said that you brats could get away?!" a voice called.

Ace and Luffy spun around, eyes wide in panic when they saw Bluejam and his crew closing in on them.

"Bluejam!" Luffy cried.

"Why are you still here after setting the fire?!" Ace asked, obviously trying to stall as he dragged Luffy back, eyes flitting around searching for an escape route, "You were supposed to have escaped by now!"

"I wonder why they haven't," Sanji said, "You'd think they'd be long gone by now."

"They're the one who set the fire; didn't they already have an escape route in place or something?" Usopp asked in panicked confusion.

"Maybe it failed," Robin offered.

"Shut up, you little shit!" Bluejam shouted, losing his normally cool and calm demeanor, before suddenly grinning. "We're hopeless, you know. We have an unforeseen dilemma. Humans are strange creatures. When you hit rock bottom, you can't stop laughing," he said and began to do just that, his crew joining him.

The sound was dark and twisted, making the crew tense nervously. Something was wrong.

"They're acting weird," Luffy whispered, drawing closer to Ace.

"What the hell is wrong with them?" Zoro asked.

Ace suddenly paled in realization. "Let's go, Luffy!"

"Don't let them," Bluejam said calmly as the boys turned tail and ran.

The pirate crew closed in around them, cutting off any possible escape route. Ace glared at them, he and Luffy tense as they turned back to face Bluejam.

"We worked together, we're friends," the captain said, smiling crookedly, a crazy gleam in his eyes "We have to die together."

"He's insane!" Nami exclaimed, fists clenched at her sides, worry clear on her face.

"When you have nothing left to lose," Robin murmured.

"We don't want to die with you!" Ace yelled furiously, "Not in a million years!"

Bluejam just kept grinning. "You're so cold," he said, almost teasingly, "Come to think of it, you still haven't told me where you keep your treasure. I'll save it for you before the fire gets it. So tell me where it is."

"Seriously?! At a time like this?!" Usopp cired.

"Everything is burning around him and that's what he wants?" Nami asked in disgust.

Ace seemed to think the same. "Your life is in danger and all you care about is treasure?"

"If you don't care, then tell me where it is," Bluejam replied calmly, grin still in place.

Ace grimaced. "You've gone mad," he hissed.

"If you're not gonna go it, it'll go to waste," Bluejam continued as if he hadn't heard, "If nothing is done, it'll be reduced to charcoal like my ship. What a waste."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Luffy stared to protest, "That treasure is –"

"Alright, I'll tell you," Ace said, cutting his little brother off.

Luffy looked stunned, then angry. "Ace!" he yelled, "You and Sabo spent a lot of time –"

"Sabo would understand!" Ace yelled, cutting the younger boy off again, making all of Luffy's anger vanish in surprise, "What matters most now is your…our lives!"

All of the Straw Hats noticed the slip.

"Even now," Robin whispered.

Nami put a hand to her mouth. "He truly believes it, doesn't he?" she asked softly, "That he doesn't deserve to live."

"It looks that way, Nami-sis," Franky said, arms crossed, a worried frown on his face, "I can't even begin to imagine what kind of things have been said to him to make him think that."

Luffy blinked, his eyes suddenly watery. "Ace…"

"We keep our treasure from the last six years in this tree," Ace explained, quickly sketching out a rough map and handing it to Bluejam.

The pirate captain reached out and took it. "I see," he said.

Luffy's face was scrunched up, tears gathered in the corners of his eyes.

"Don't cry," Ace said firmly, but softly, eyes glaring at the pirate in front of him, "It's alright. This isn't the end."

"I have to admit, Ace is handling this situation pretty well given the circumstances," Sanji said.

Chopper nodded. "He's managing to stay calm; that's good."

"And he's doing it all for Luffy," Usopp added.

Before anything else could be done though, the pirates suddenly snatch up the boys.

"What are you doing?!" Ace yelled, "I told you where it was!"

"You're right, this isn't the end," Bluejam said with a smirk, "Which means you could be lying. You have to come with me."

"No way, then it would be too late to escape!" Ace screamed in panicked protest, "Why don't you go on your own!?"

Bluejam pulled out his gun and pointed it at Ace's head. "You don't want to mess with me now! I'm determined to make a comeback even if it means stealing from kids so I can take revenge on the nobles. And your brother is one of them."

"Revenge on the Nobles?" Farnky asked in confusion.

"It seems we were correct," Brook said.

"But it looks like the Nobles stabbed Bluejam and his shitty crew in the back," Sanji commented.

Zoro rolled his eye. "Shocker," he deadpanned.

"Jackass deserved it anyway," Nami grumbled, Usopp and Chopper nodding in agreement.

"They think they're so special and look down on others as if we're trash!" Bluejam continued to rant.

Luffy glared furiously at him while Ace yelled, "Sabo isn't like that!"

"He's one of them, you fool!" Bluejam yelled, "He was only hanging out with you because it made him feel superior! His parents are rich beyond imagination! He was slumming with you for a cheap thrill! You were his play-things!"

"That's not true!" Luffy yelled, lips trembling.

"He was looking down on you and laughing at you the entire time!"

"Stop talking about Sabo like that!" Ace screamed.

"Yeah!" Luffy cried, "He just wants to be free!"

And then Luffy bit down on his captor's arm. Hard. The pirate released him with a scream of pain and Luffy hit the ground in a fighting stance, pipe out and ready.

"You little shit!" the pirate exclaimed, bringing his sword down.

Luffy brought his pipe up in an attempt to block the blow, but the sword cut through the pipe like it was nothing, slicing into the rubber boy's face.

"LUFFY!" the crew cried out with Ace as the boy fell to the ground, holding his face as blood gushed from the wound, screaming in agony.

"I'll kill you, you brat!" the pirate said, sword poised for the killing blow.

"Let go of me!" Ace screamed, struggling furiously, eyes widening as the sword began to come down, "DON'T HURT LUFFY!"

A wave of power suddenly emitted from Ace, spreading across the group making everything freeze in place for a single, startlingly silent moment before the pirates started to collapse to the ground one by one until Bluejam was the only one left standing. Even the flames retreated.

Sanji stared, wide eyed. "That was…

"Conqueror's Haki," Zoro said, surprised.

"But Ace is only what? Ten? Eleven?" Nami asked, the crew just as startled, "Luffy was seventeen when he awoke his!"

"Big brother of a monster is an even bigger monster," Usopp muttered.

"Haki is usually awakened under stressful situations," Robin explained.

"Well I don't think we can get much more stressful than this," Franky said.

Bluejam was left staring in shock and slight panic at his fallen men. Ace paid them no mind; as soon as he hit the ground, he was making his way over to Luffy.

"Luffy!" he exclaimed, kneeling by his brother's side, "Are you okay?!"

Before Luffy could even try to form a response, Ace was yanked away be the back of his neck.

"What did you do?!" Bluejam yelled, throwing the boy to the ground.

"Damnit," Ace muttered as he struggled to get up.

Bluejam stomped down on his chest, stopping him. Ace made a choked sound as the air rushed from his lungs. "You creepy little brat!" the insane pirate yelled as he pointed his gun at Ace's head, "Do you want to make a fool out of me too!?"

"You do that enough on your own, shitty asshole," Sanji growled.

Luffy looked up in panic and horror. "Ace!" he called making a weak attempt to get to the older boy.

Bluejam grinned and his finger tightened on the trigger…only for his aim to be knocked away at the last minute.

The crew stared in shock right along with the boys as Dadan and the bandits appeared through the flames. Dadan's hand was locked around the barrel of Bluejam's gun as she glared furiously up at the pirate.

"Dadan!" Luffy cried in surprise.

"She…showed up!" Nami exclaimed in shock.

"Stop it, you sea cretin!" she yelled as Ace stared up at her in completely unguarded surprise, "Let go of Ace!"

She swung the ax in her hand at the pirate, who was able to bring up his sword to block the attack only to be knocked back anyway.

"What are you guys doing here?" Luffy asked as Dogra knelt by him.

"We finally found you!" Magra exclaimed as he and the others ran up.

"These are some serious wounds, Luffy!" Dogra said before glancing around, "Where's Sabo?"

"Sabo went home," Luffy panted out, "He's not here."

Ace took a fighting stance as Bluejam got back up.

"Ace," Magra said softly, grabbing his arm to hold him back.

"You're that mountain monkey from Mt. Corvo," Bluejam sneered.

"I'm the mountain bandit, Dadan!" she yelled in response, "I don't know why, but I'm registered as their foster parent! When someone tries to take my boys' lives, I won't stand by and watch! Even if I'm not their real parent!"

The Straw Hats blinked in surprised confusion.

"Huh. I didn't think she cared so much," Usopp said, "Before it was like she couldn't wait to get rid of them and now she's coming to their rescue?"

"I guess she really does care," Chopper said.

"I'll just let you go if you back away," Dadan called, "If you don't, then I'll have to resort to violence!"

The other bandits had swords and spears raised and ready. Bluejam, though, grinned.

"Try it!" he said.

"Oh yeah?" Dadan asked, "Alright then…"

There was a tense moment of silence before the bandits turned as one.

"Run away!" Dadan yelled.

The Straw Hats sweatdropped.

"You've got to be kidding me," Nami muttered as Robin chuckled next to her.

"Well at least she sounded cool," Franky commented.

"Ace, hurry up!" Magra called.

"I…I will never run away!" the boy yelled.

"Is he serious?!" Usopp screamed.

"Run away, Ace!" Chopper yelled.

"He doesn't have time for this!" Nami exclaimed, "The fire is still spreading! Staying here any longer means they won't be able to find a way out!"

Sanji grimaced. "Sabo was right; this habit is getting him into trouble."

"What are you saying Ace!?" Dogra yelled, "Don't try to fight him! Bluejam is a real villain! He's not a guy that a kid like you can beat!"

"M-me too!" Luffy said, feebly trying to get out of the bandit's hold on him, "I want to fight too!"

"Luffy, no!" the bandit said, tightening his hold.

"You all, go on ahead and take Luffy back," Dadan said, walking back towards Ace.

"Boss?" the bandits questioned.

"I'll make sure Ace comes back with me!" she said firmly, and when no one moved, she shouted, "Go!"

"Y-yeah!"

"Boss! Please come back alive!"

"Ace!" Luffy cried, reaching for his brother, "ACE!"

The Straw Hats could only watch as the flames rose higher and burned brighter.

* * *

Luffy clung to the wall, leaning on it heavily as he tried to drag himself along. He was nearly covered head to toe in bandages and he looked completely exhausted in a way his crew had never seen before.

"Well, at least they treated him this time," Sanji said.

"Easy, easy. You have to wait, Luffy," Magra said softly, "You haven't recovered, where are you going?"

"I have to go look for Ace and Dadan," Luffy panted out, desperation leaking into his weak voice. He finally made it to the door and managed to get it open, only to fall to the ground without it there to support him. "Ouch," he whimpered, curling into a ball, though even that seemed difficult for him.

"Poor Luffy," Chopper whispered.

"See? That's what I told you," Magra said, gently scooping Luffy up and tucking back into bed. The other bandits all looked on anxiously, worry clear on their faces.

"Everyone is so…different now," Nami said, "Before they weren't even nice to the boys, but now…"

"I suspect that is like Ace," Robin observed.

"What do you mean, Robin-san?" Brook asked.

"Ace is not good at expressing his emotions, especially tender ones, and when he does, it is usually in the form of anger," Robin explained.

"Robin-chwan is so smart~!"

Zoro crossed his arms, rolling his eyes at Sanji but ignoring his idiocy for once. "Makes sense, I guess."

"Regardless, after something like that, people tend to want to be together," Robin said softly, worried eyes on her tiny captain's form.

"You're seriously wounded," Magra said checking Luffy's bandages, "You have to rest."

"There are a lot of troops in Gray Terminal right now taking care of the mess from the fire," Dogra added, coming to sit next to Magra, "It's not just burnt junk they're taken care of, but survivors too. You're going to get killed if you go there."

Franky grimaced. "And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse."

"It seems these shitty Nobles just don't have a lowest point," Sanji sneered.

"But…!" Luffy murmured, tears streaming from his eyes and surprised sobs wracking his body until he couldn't hold them back anymore and sobbed openly, "I wanna see Ace! I know Sabo's worried about us too!"

And then Luffy started to cry harder. The bandits all looked down, their expressions equal parts guilt and worry as the boys sobs echoed in the quiet room.

"Lemme go!" Luffy yelled, trying to shrug out of Magra's grip, "Ace isn't dead!"

The crew flinched.

"Well that escalated quickly," Usopp muttered.

Luffy had healed mostly, though there were still some minor wounds. He wasn't about to let that stop him though, as the crew knew from experience.

"Now, now, I understand," Magra tried to placate, "I understand how you feel. But the military is at Gray Terminal; going there in your condition is far too dangerous!"

"But…!"

"You saw how big that fire was," Magra continued, "The chances that they survived…" he wilted some, "Even if the chances are slim, we want to believe that the Boss and Ace survived…Dogra is looking for them right now. Let's just leave it to him. This is difficult for us all, Luffy."

And the crew could tell that it was. The air around the hut was tense and anxious and there wasn't a smile in sight.

"Hey, guys!" a bandit shouted, barreling through the doorway and then leaning over on his knees to catch his breath, "They've…They've returned!" he yelled, looking up with a big grin and teary eyes.

The Straw Hats let out a sigh of relief.

"That's good," Nami said with a smile.

"We knew Ace was going to make it," Zoro said with an indifferent shrug.

"I was still worried!" Nami yelled, "And we didn't know if Dadan made it or not!"

"Thought you didn't like her?" Zoro questioned.

"Shut up!" She yelled, whacking the swordsman over the head.

Immediately, everyone tried to squeeze through the door at once. Luffy, being smaller and also made of rubber, got past them all with ease.

"Are you kidding me?!" Usopp cried, jaw dropping in disbelief.

Ace was carrying Dadan's bandage covered form on his small back. He was panting and covered in cuts and bruises, but he was alive. They both were. The bandits cheered and were quick to help the injured pair into the hut and start to treat them. A bandit brought Ace some clean clothes and he started to put them on when Luffy came up behind him and latched onto his waist.

"Ace!" he sobbed, clinging tightly to his brother.

"Luffy…"Ace growled. He pause though, and softened slightly when he saw Luffy's face, "Did you think I was dead?" he asked.

Luffy let go and wiped his eyes. "But," he choked out.

"What are you crying for?!" Ace yelled whacking Luffy upside the head and making him cry for an entirely different reason, "Don't act like I'm dead when I'm not, you idiot!"

"And once again, we have Ace," Nami sighed, but there was this fond edge to her voice.

Robin chuckled. "He's not used to people being worried about him."

"Now, now, let him be," Magra said with a smile, "Luffy is just happy."

Ace glared for a second, before sighing and letting his shoulders slump. Rolling his eyes heavenward as if he were asking for patience, he lifted an arm in invitation to the younger boy. Luffy took it without hesitation, diving at Ace and wrapping his rubbery arms around his brother at least three times, knocking them both to the ground.

Ace grunted. "Damnit, Luffy," he muttered, raising one hand as if to strike the boy only to look at him sobbing into his chest and letting his hand fall with a sigh of defeat, resigning himself to being held. "You're such an idiot," he grumbled, staring at the ceiling.

Luffy's arms just tightened around him.

The Straw Hat crew smiled.

* * *

"Wonder how Sabo's doing," Luffy said as he crouched down next to the white dog that the crew had come to know as Poochi, "Still, I'm glad that Ace is back and that Dadan is getting better."

Poochi barked in response.

"He said 'me too'," Chopper translated.

Luffy sighed. "I'm bored though," he whined, "Hey, Poochi, let's go look for some beetles!"

The crew watched as their tiny captain and the dog began to scour the yard for bugs.

"It's nice to see Luffy-san playing like a child," Brook said.

Franky laughed. "Luffy-bro is always playing!"

Brook chuckled. "True," he agreed, "But it is nice to see him so happy after such an ordeal."

Luffy turned at the sound of footsteps to see Dogra walking up with a pale and stunned look on his face.

Zoro's eye narrowed. "What's wrong with him?"

"Dogra!" Luffy called, "You went looking for Ace and Dadan, right? They've both come home!" Luffy exclaimed with a bright grin.

Dogra plastered a nervous smile on his face. "R-really? That's great," he said.

"He doesn't seem too happy about it," Usopp commented.

"Well he was out looking for them," Nami pointed out, "Maybe he…saw the soldiers taking care of things."

"Let's go inside, Luffy," Dogra said.

Luffy blinked, but did as he was told. "Dogra's back!" he announced as he bounced through the door.

Greetings were called out, but Dogra ignored them. Magra finally noticed his friend's pale face.

"Dogra?" he asked, "What's wrong?"

Dogra flinched. "W-well, you…you see…" he stuttered.

"Just spit it out!" Ace called.

Dogra clenched his fists and took a deep breath. "Sabo's dead."

The room froze.

It was as if all of the air had been sucked away, no one breathed, no one made a sound. It was quiet. The crew's eyes went wide in shock.

"What?" Luffy whispered, the first to break the painful silence, "What did you say?"

"Sabo is dead," Dogra repeated.

"W-what?" Ace stuttered, completely stunned, "Sabo is…" Suddenly Ace's face darkened and he dove at Dogra, tackling him to the ground, fist read to strike. "You liar!" he yelled furiously, "Don't even joke about that!"

"Don't do it, Ace!" Magra called out.

"I-it's not a lie," Dogra said, "Or a joke! It was so sudden, I barely realized that it had happened. I doubted my own eyes! I wondered if it was a dream or an illusion!"

"Shut up!" Ace screamed in rage and denial, "Sabo went back to his noble born parents! There's no way he would sail out to sea!"

"That's right! Sabo went home!" Luffy yelled, desperate for some reason, any reason, to make it seem like Dogra was lying.

"Outlaws like us understand how he must have felt!" Dogra yelled as he pushed Ace away, "We all have places we really don't want to go back to! Do you really think he would go out to sea if he were actually happy? Do you really think he would fly a pirate flag and set out on his own!?" he cried, tears now running freely down his face.

Ace began to shake violently as Dogra's words sunk in. They made sense after all. Sabo hated High Town, had always hated High Town.

"_They only care about money and social status…not me." _

"_Sorry if I offend you, but even though I had parents…I always felt lonely!"_

"_I'll do whatever you want! I'll live however you want me to live! But please don't hurt them! Please!"_

Luffy's face crumpled completely as the meaning finally sunk in. "Sabo..." he whispered, trembling, tears gathering in his eyes, expression completely shattered, "He wasn't happy at all!" he cried.

Ace pulled at his hair. "Why...why didn't we try to break him out!?" He cried, his voice broken, before he suddenly jerked up, face a mask of pure rage, and grabbed Dogra by his collar. "Who was the person who murdered Sabo!? I'm going to kill them!"

Dogra's eyes went wide. "Y-you can't Ace!" he stuttered, "It was a Noble! A Tenryubito! T-there's no way you can…!"

That seemed to jerk the Straw Hats back to life. The shock of Sabo's death gripped them tightly, choking them. He was only child, had barely begun to live, and now he would never have the chance.

"A Tenryubito?" Nami asked breathlessly.

"They just have to fuck everything up don't they?" Zoro growled.

Ace threw Dogra to the ground and made a dash for the door, grabbing his pipe staff on the way. "I'm gonna avenge Sabo!"

Dadan was suddenly there, though, cutting off Ace's path and slamming him into the ground. "Drop it, you damn brat!" Dadan yelled as she forced Ace to the floor.

"Get off me!" Ace screamed as blood began to drip from the wound he recived when Dadan jumped him, "Don't get in my way!"

"You keep acting tough, even though you don't have any real strength!" Dadan screamed as pinned Ace down by his shoulders, ignoring his murderous glare, "What the hell do you think you can do now!? You'll just end up dead! You'll die and everyone will forget about you by tomorrow! That's all you amount to right now! It was this kingdom that killed Sabo! It was the world itself! What can you do!?" She paused, panting, glaring right back at the boy under her and giving him a rough shake. "Your father's death brought about a new era! Once you have become a man of that caliber, then you're free to live or die as you like!"

Ace looked enraged at the mention of his father, but there was a spark of realization in his eyes.

"Go tie this moron up!" Dadan ordered, tossing Ace to the bandits.

The boy spat and struggled and cursed, but couldn't get away. And all the while Luffy's heartbroken sobs echoed through the night.

"So…he's really gone then," Nami whispered as the scene faded away.

"Looks that way," Sanji replied softly.

Chopper wiped the tears off his face. "That's not fair!" he sobbed, "He was just a kid!"

Robin knelt down beside him and wrapped her arms around him. He clung to her. "We know, Chopper, we know."

And it pained the crew that there was nothing they could do about it, no magic way to fix it. It was like Marineford all over again. Finding out and being too far away to help, even though this had happened long before any of them had met Luffy. The image of their tiny captain sobbing was seared into their minds and his cries echoed in their ears. They wanted to reach out and hold him and somehow protect him from the cruel world.

But they couldn't.

So they cried for him instead.

* * *

**I told you it was really fucking long. That's over 18,000 words right there. God I am so tired right now. It's like 1 in the morning right now and I'm on drugs for my cold that are supposed to put me to sleep. Soooooooo sleeeeepyyyyyyy...I gonna go sleepy-bye now.**

******Edit: This is what I get for posting the chapter while I'm drugged. *sigh* I totally forgot.** The inspiration for Luffy finding out about Ace's parentage comes from a fic titled _'Okay?' by Lunarangel's Dark Flame._ **Go check it out! It's**** a good read! Just remember to bring tissues.**_**  
**_

**Sorry again for the delay!**

**Until next time,**

**~Elri**


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